Project: Scarlet
by Ol Alex
Summary: A project in a Bio Experiment Institute has gone wrong, and the test subject is on the loose; hungry for blood. Will our feathery friends be able to put a stop to her? Or will fear and death flood the jungle? !GRIMDARK! **Special Guest: Rapture at Sea**
1. Friendly Intentions Gone Wrong

Author's Note: This has no connection to "Tales of an Eagle". This is simply another story, although you might see a few of my OCs from "Tales of an Eagle". The Main character/s will be none of my OCs though.

Any unfamiliar chemical name that will be used in this story does not exist. The Bio Institute in this story is made up as well.

Warning: This is rated "M" for how much violence I'll apply here, as well as the speech of the characters (Sorry, no lemons).

Oh, and just to let you all know: My collaboration with **Rapture at Sea** starts in Chapter 2 until this story ends.

**!Read at your own risk, and check the genre to make sure of the story you're about to read!** :D

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><p>Project: Scarlet<p>

Friendly Intentions Gone Wrong

May 15, 2015: Brazil, Rio de Janeiro; U.S. Military and Environmental Bio Experiments Institute South American Branch

A night in Rio has never been so chilly. However, it was quiet, serene and no one dared to ruin such a moment of peace. Birds were flying to their hollows to prepare for the next day and simply bushed from either partying like the birds they are, or a bunch of other stuff. People were going home from work, excited to getting back with their families. Some were going to work for their night shifts. This was the usual routine of a majority of everyday human beings.

But there are some, or a lot of jobs that never cease. In fact, they keep working every day, with night shifts of course.

This one job, though, is a lot more different than the rest, and that is being a part of the Bio Experiments Institute.

In a distant island that is still within the vicinity of Rio, next to the jungles, a small secret U.S. Military Base is stationed there. The personnel mostly consists of scientists and soldiers, working excruciatingly hard, day and night, just to experiment on living creatures with the help of international scientists, for a good reason though. It was mostly to save the species of the experimented subject, by coming up with new strains of DNA which are compatible with other strains. That way, the experimented species will not entirely go extinct. However, the strain of which will be combined with the new strain must be of the same kind, meaning if it is an avian-related DNA that is being experimented on, then the strain to be combined with that must be avian-related as well.

However, the events that are about to take place will change the outcome of the personnel's' intended actions.

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><p>A leading scientist, by the name of Gabriel Sanderson, walks down the main hall of the building. He is halted to a stop by two U.S. Army Rangers for an I.D. check. Once Gabriel showed his I.D., he is allowed to enter the deeper sectors of the building. They do the I.D. check all the time just to make sure that no intruders will enter the vicinity and cause a Bio-hazard problem. Those things always happened in sci-fi horror movies and sci-fi horror video games alike. Extreme caution and observation is always heeded.<p>

Now, about Gabriel, he helps in the experimenting of different species, mostly concerning the ones that are close to being or are endangered. He has been doing this for five years now, and so far, no Bio-hazard accidents or incidents occurred. He's well known for his past successions and seemingly flawless projects.

His current project is called "Project: Scarlet". As unfortunate news, the species of the Scarlet Macaws are depleting for unknown reasons. Why unknown? It's because the bird-smuggling was heavily suppressed by governments around the world, usually by Brazil, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and France, and yet their species are still failing to increase. So now, Gabriel and his international accomplices intend to save the Scarlet Macaws from the brink of extinction, while the world-wide governments will try to find out what's causing their decline. Other than that, it was also named Project: Scarlet, for they have decided to classify their subject as Scarlet. Her I.D. code is T-1432.

While he was on his way to the "Project: Scarlet Experimentation Room", he meets up with his colleague and close friend by the name of Frank Harris, who is also helping in the Project: Scarlet Experimentation. "Good evening, Gabe. How's my seemingly flawless friend, huh?" He said as he put his hand on his shoulder.

"Ah, I'm fine Frank. I hope you're doing fine as well." He said with an uneasy tone in his voice. He was nervous about the whole Project: Scarlet thing. Frank noticed his uneasiness and attempts to try and find out why. "Hey, buddy. What's wrong? Missed dinner or somethin'? "

Gabriel, without looking at his friend, replies, still with the tone uneasiness. "No. It's just that… this whole project on the Scarlet Macaws is making me nervous. I mean, what if I screw up? If I do, this whole institute will fall and the Scarlet Macaws will be extinct for sure."

"Calm down, Gabe! You succeeded in the past projects and nothing bad happened. What else is there to worry about?"

Gabriel realized what his friend was talking about. He's right on the account that he never failed on an experiment. But mistakes may occur anytime. He was honest about his opinion that it was only luck that had guided him through all of the experiments. Who knows? Tonight may be a time that Gabriel would commit a mistake and everything would go down to Hell. However, they're all about to find out, otherwise. "Well, I guess there's nothing to worry about. But like always, let's be careful. We'll never know what might happen."

Frank made two steps backward and lifted his arms. "Alright, then. You're the boss. Hey, let's get with the project. Those Scarlet Macaws won't stay save themselves, you know." And with that, they both made their way down the hall to the room where the project took place. While walking, they didn't say another word. Both of their hearts were beating pretty fast. Project: Scarlet was actually the biggest operation that they ever participated in. And assuming that it was a big project, any kind of mistake could not only endanger the personnel, but also the species of the Scarlet Macaws.

After 4 minutes of walking, the stopped in front of a door. The door was electronically locked and it requires an I.D. Of course, in an institute like this, an I.D. is always required. Gabriel took his I.D. out and swiped it on the card reader. The card reader made a beeping sound, signaling that the card has been verified, and the red light on the card reader switched to green. The experimenting room for Project: Scarlet was near a generator. Any kind of major technical problems may result into a huge explosion.

The door slid open to the side automatically and then the two scientists entered. Inside the room contained steel experimentation tables, lab instruments and the like. However, at the end of the room, stands a tall and wide glass tube filled with water. Inside the tube, is a Scarlet Macaw whose name was T-1432 or Scarlet, floating in the liquid. Wires are connected to different parts of her body.

Gabriel walked towards the experimental tube, passing by the tables and scientists and observed Scarlet, adoring her as she slept peacefully in the tube. "Ah, the beauty of such avian beings. You don't have to worry about pure extinction, my dear Scarlet, for your long-awaited future is about to unravel itself upon you and your fellow red-feathered friends."

With that remark, he turned to his fellow partners. As a concerned and determined scientist, he asked, "How is the new DNA strain coming along? Are the estimated chances of compatibility with other macaws positive, or negative?"

One scientist answered. "We are just about to inject the special DNA strain into her. It is a Blue-and-Gold variant. I just hope this will work."

"Are there any certain- well… upgrades to the strain?"

"Yes, sir. We added a chemical named HP-12. It is supposed to prevent any kind of harsh physical mutation to the subject." He said as he picked a bottle that said "HP-12" from a near-by chemical chiller. "Well, sir? Are you ready to inject the strain into her?"

Gabriel was about to say yes, but doubts still swam in his head like sharks going for their prey. He was still worried about what may happen. A minute ago while observing Scarlet, he sounded confident. But now, he's not sure whether this would work right. The only thing they can do is hope for the best, for there is no turning back.

After breathing slowly and heavily in the pressuring silence, he walked over to the machine next to Scarlet, which was responsible for the wires connected to her. On the machine, was a slot for a shot to fit in. Apparently, this machine injects whatever's inside the inserted shot into the test subject. While looking at the machine, his partners were looking at him, anxious to get the project started. He tapped his fingers simultaneously on the machine's flat top portion.

Frank came up to him and was holding a huge shot containing the strain. Gabriel looked at him with a smile. "Well, looks like someone wants to get this thing done pronto."

"Well duh! The suspense is killing me and the rest of the team!"

And with his comment, he slowly took the shot from his friend's hand. "There's no turning back, buddy. Let's hope this works." As he got the shot, he immediately inserted it into the slot, much to his suspense. Once a click was audible in the insertion, he turned the machine on.

They all backed up slowly as the wires connected to Scarlet started changing color. It seemed that the strain was already making its way into her. All of the scientists were getting excited. The biggest project in all of their time in the institute is now in motion. "The future of the Scarlet Macaws is in our hands. Only God knows what may happen as an aftermath."

Suddenly, just when everything started to look fine, the machine started sounding off an alarm. Gabriel immediately went over to the machine and was extremely appalled. It was overloading the strain into Scarlet's system! A specific measure was encrypted into the machine's injection process. If that is the case now, then why is it injecting all of what's inside the shot into her?

Fear was crawling up into Gabriel's spine. He knew something like this was going to happen. An overload of the strain could cause a painful and yet deadly physical mutation. He needed to do something, fast! "Shit! Why is this happening?" He screamed as he tried to open the machine's engine box. As he opened it, he tried to pull on the wires, but they were bolted deeper.

Feeling desperate, he called one of his partners. "You! Help me with this!"

"I'm on it." He said as he grabbed an emergency tool box from under the table he was near.

Frank had an option to use as a last resort. He took out his M92F and prepared to shoot the engine of the machine if the tools didn't work. While he eyed Scarlet, Gabriel and the scientist were trying to pry off the wires in order for them to cut it, therefore killing the machine. Scarlet's life was at stake, and so was her species.

Gabriel was getting scared and frustrated as he tried to pry the wires away from the engine. "Agh! Get the fuck out of there!" Suddenly sparks started flying from the engine. The machine was about to explode! And to make matters worse, the building's generator was close to them!

The sparks hit Gabriel in the face, making him wince in pain as he slapped his hand on the burnt part of his face while backing away. "Augh, shit!"

Frank came running towards him and tried to help him up. "Gabe, you alright? We gotta get outta here! The machine's gonna blow any second!"

"No! Not without Scarlet! I can't leave without her! She can't d-"

A sudden explosion erupted from the machine, cutting his reply. It was them followed by another explosion, coming from the next room. To make it short and simple, a chain of explosions erupted from all around the scientists. The last explosion however, was bigger. It was the generator. Its explosion caused the whole laboratory complex to go into a fiery blaze.

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><p><strong>10 Minutes Later…<strong>

**Gabriel's POV**

Ugh… My head hurt like Hell. I'm just lucky that I survived the explosions. What the fuck went wrong? That damn machine worked fine in the past years! Why did it have to go wrong now? Or better yet, why did it go wrong anyway?

Holding on to my head with one hand, I opened my eyes as I tried to get up from the ground. I was absolutely appalled by what I saw around me. The whole place was trashed. The lights were out, but the emergency red light was on. I looked around more, trying to look for any survivors. But all around me were the bodies of my dead colleagues. Damn! Is there not at least one person alive?

Suddenly, I heard a moan of pain coming from my right side. It was Frank. Thank God, he was still with me. I completely stood up from where I was and scurried towards him. He was injured, but not heavily. It was just a gash on his ribs. At least there wasn't any blood spilling like a waterfall. "Hey, Frank! You alright?" I said as I helped him up to his feet.

"I… I th-think so. God! What happened? Why'd the machine go crazy? I mean, that never happened before!"

"I don't know. But we gotta get out of here before the whole complex collapses on us."

I got Frank back up. He picked his M92F from the ground and said, "I'll check on the others. In the mean-time, go and see about Scarlet." Scarlet! I nearly forgot about her. Oh, God! I hope she's alright. I made my way through the destroyed tables, destroyed laboratory equipment and wall debris as quickly as possible. I needed to make sure she's alright. It's bad enough that the whole operation has gone to Hell, but having Scarlet dead is much worse.

The red light did not illuminate the whole room well. When I got to the end of the room, I couldn't see the experimental tube. I was just about to ask Frank if he could switch on the flashlight that's on his M92F's LAM, but when some of the scattered wires sparked and briefly illuminated the end of the room, I caught a glimpse of the experimental tube… and it was EMPTY. Scarlet was gone! 'Shit! Where did she go? I hope nothing bad happened to her.

My train of thought suddenly crashed when two rangers went through the still-functional door. "Mr. Sanderson! Mr. Harris! C'mon, let's get out of here! There aren't any other survivors in the complex and the comms are down! We can't waste any more time here!"

I was about to reply when the alarm suddenly went off.

Alarm: Warning! Warning! Bio-hazard Level 4! I repeat, Bio-hazard Level 4! All personnel evacuate immediately! I repeat, all personnel evacuate immediately! Bio-hazard warning located in the Project: Scarlet Experimentation Room!

Damn! We were in the room! We were all about to bolt towards the door when the emergency security systems suddenly shut the door and locked us in. Frank lost his cool in the ensuing scenario. "Agh! The fucking systems locked us in! What the Hell are we going to do?"

One of the rangers tried to calm him down. "Just calm down, Mr. Harris. We'll find a way." He then turned to his partner and asked if there's any other way out. "Is there an alternative solution that we can use, private?"

The private scanned the room and eyed the wall next to the broken machine. The wall had a small opening and damaging it a little more might just break it, forming a larger opening for a human to fit in. "How about that wall over there? I'll go see about it."

While he was at that, I suddenly heard some noises. It sounded like… flapping noises. Could it be Scarlet? It might be. But then I also heard something else; something that macaws don't do. I heard a sinister giggle. Oh God. What else is in here? Or worse… what did Scarlet turn into? The thought of that just gave me the chills on my spine. "Guys… you heard that? That can't be Scarlet right?"

Frank then looked at me with disbelief. "Gabe, macaws don't giggle, unless they're just imitating someone. All-in-all, I mean, that's just down-right absur-"

His reply was cut off when something whizzed past our heads and hit the red light. Whatever threw that thing to the red light really pissed me off and at the same time scared the shit out of me, because our only large source of light was broken. All of a sudden, I heard the giggling again. Where the fuck is it coming from? This had better not be a prank. Because if it is, that prankster's going too far!

Frank and the sergeant were scared as well. The whole place was dark now, and the only light we have are from the AR-15s' flashlights that the soldiers had and from Frank's M92F LAM. "Okay… Now I'm freaked out. Hey uh… private. Are you done checking on the wall? 'Cause I really want to get out of this place."

I looked at the silhouette of the private, and he seemed finished. "Well… I guess the wall's weak enough. We could uh… break it down with anything we have here. Just be careful when we get to the other side, though. There's a lot of broken wires there and they're sparki-"

He suddenly stopped talking, and his cease was accompanied by a sick, damaging of flesh. After his cease, we heard a loud thud. I wonder what happened. I had to know. I just hope he's not hurt. Frank suddenly asked me, "What happened? Why'd he stop?"

"I don't know, but we'd better find out. May you turn on your LAM and point it to the direction of the private?"

And with that, he followed my request. And what we saw made all of us shout in terror. The private was… dead. He had a large steel fragment stabbed through the side of his head, and yet his eyes were still open. Who's doing this? It can't be Scarlet. I was just about to examine the private's body when we suddenly heard flapping noises again. Shit… It really is Scarlet. I mean, who else could've killed the private? It can't be Frank and the sergeant. They were behind me all the time. But then again, Scarlet's just a bird. She can't do that… Or maybe…

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Frank, whose voice jumped up in surprise. "Oh Shit! I think I saw a pair of eyes on the far corner." And he was right. There was a pair of eyes on the corner. Red eyes, that is. I was scared as well, but I needed to know who owned those eyes. "Sergeant, can you shine your light on that corner?"

"Yes sir." He then pointed his gun to the corner in order for the flashlight to point. I WAS able to see the being who owned those red eyes. And the sight of who owned those red eyes nearly made my heart jump to my skull.

It was Scarlet, brandishing a scalpel in her left foot, giving us a sinister smile. I couldn't help but freak out, not only because she was the one that killed the private, but she herself grew a bit in size and her talons on every toe were huge! The overdose of the strain must have caused her mutation. What's more is that her smile told us that she had an intention to… KILL US! "Shit! It's Scarlet! She's responsible for the private's death!"

"I'll neutralize her!" The sergeant then pulled the bolt on his rifle and fired away. And like lightning, Scarlet flew up and went around every direction, majestically dodging every single bullet that the sergeant dared to throw at her. He was able to shoot the scalpel off her grasp, but what she did next shocked me and Frank, in which we were both motionless and speechless. After dodging every bullet thrown at her, she dove directly for the sergeant's throat and dug her big and razor-sharp talons into it, which he didn't dodge in time.

The sergeant, now hopeless as the demonic macaw started shredding his throat, tried to get her off of him. But she was pressing her weight on him with full force. Blood started flowing out from the punctures on his throat like a waterfall as Scarlet detached herself from him, soaking his uniform and giving it a shade of red. Frank, who finally built up some courage, ran over to the sergeant. "J-just hold on to the wounds! Don't let any blood come out!"

"Be-urgh-hind you… Urgh!" The more air that he tried to gasp into his system, the more blood was pushed from the punctures on his throat.

Frank did not hear the sergeant's warning though. "What?"

I knew he wouldn't be able to heed the sergeant's warning in time, so I warned him as I ran towards him, for Scarlet came swooping back with the scalpel, aiming for his cranium. "FRANK, BEHIND YOU!"

But it was too late. Scarlet had already shoved the scalpel into his head. He fell next to the dying soldier, with Scarlet still standing on his head. I can't believe my close friend just died right in front of me! A while back, we were all excited to get the project done, and now, the one who we have been trying to work on just so her species would be saved, the one who I adored, just killed three people in front of me, especially my close friend. I know that this is going to be the end of me. But that doesn't mean that I'm falling down without a fucking fight.

As Scarlet pulled the scalpel out of Frank's head, she slowly turned towards me, flashed an evil smile and licked the blood off her deadly tool. She must've liked the taste of blood. I knew what I had to do. "Grrr… You're going to fucking pay for their deaths!"

I quickly lunged towards the now-dead sergeant's AR-15, took out a mag from his vest, loaded it in and started firing at the being who I once adored. Again, like lightning, she flew and swayed around majestically while evading the bullets. I gotta hand it to her. She really did look majestic when she did that. And then suddenly, I was thrown back into reality as she tackled me with supernatural force on the gut, violently sending me to the broken experimental tube. Shit... She fucking distracted me with her mesmerizing looks.

I still had the rifle in my hands, but the problem was that I ran out of ammo. To make matters worse, my guts felt like they were going to blow up any second. And the fact that my side was also aching like Hell… Things couldn't get any worse. Scarlet sure packed a punch. However, one thing was weird. A second ago, she was on my stomach as she tackled me, but now, after moaning and suffering from the pain I received, she suddenly disappeared.

Still holding on to my pained body, I closed my eyes for a while. I was hoping to God that this was all a nightmare. Why did this have to happen? This was the biggest project that I ever attended in my life! The Scarlet Macaws were about to become extinct even with the bird-smuggling suppressed. And after that damned machine screwed up… everything came to an end. Now, the one Scarlet Macaw that I have adored and observed for such a long time… tries to kill me.

All of a sudden, my sights came back to me as I felt a sharp pain on my chest. And to think I opened my eyes to find Scarlet right in front of me, holding on to the scalpel that is now embedded in my chest as she smiles wider this time. "AAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!"

It really was the end of me. And all my hopes of saving them… gone. "I… I… I t-try my b-best to save you and y-your species from e-extinction. I r-really did. W-what have you become?"

Before my vision started blacking out, Scarlet raised my chin with her wingtip and glares at me straight in the eyes. And what she did next surprised me. After giving me the evil smile once more, she replied, "Your worst nightmare." She actually spoke.

The last thing I felt before letting go of my life was a sudden slicing action performed on my throat. Scarlet slit my throat with her huge and razor-sharp talons, obviously happily showering in my fluids of life. This caused my dying to go faster. Remembering all my friends and family was the last thing that registered in my head before everything went black.

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><p><strong>Scarlet's POV<strong>

Well, that was quite the entertainment. These human puppets really did well in entertaining me. Now to find a way out of this blasted place. I spent enough time wallowing in that filthy tube of theirs. I didn't care about my species. Only myself. So if anyone related to me ever disappears from this world, fine with me.

I carefully scanned the room, looking for an opening. I flew everywhere around the room and I found no opening. The crack on the wall was an option, but the other side was too- well, cramped for me. It's better if I find a ventilation system. I bet it's behind the bookshelves. I flew to towards the destroyed bookshelves and dug through the weak and burnt wood. But I did not find any vents. I checked under the tables, and there weren't any either.

I was beginning to think that this room will be my tomb if I don't find a way out. I stared at the tube that those idiotic humans kept me in. And then I noticed something behind the dark shattered glass. I went over to get a closer look, and I couldn't believe my eyes. It was a vent. I'm free!

I needed a tool, however, in order for me to open up the vent. I looked around once more, and then my eyes stopped to see that man's body. Gabriel… the one who adored me… That was true, to be honest. Hmm… Maybe I should've let him live. Nah! He'd probably tell me off to his government. I don't want to be tailed anymore.

I landed on top of his chest and took the scalpel out. Showering in his ichor really hit the spot. Well, time to let go of these pesky humans. I've got a world to explore… and slaughter its beings.

I flew back to the vent and unscrewed the bolts with the scalpel. Once I got that done, I removed the hatch. Thankfully, the vent was big enough for me to fit in, assuming that I have grown a bit in the process of mutation. I crawled into the vent, hoping that I would get out of this place. It took me quite a while to get through. The explosions made a few… changes to the vent's pathway. Big-ass dents, debris sticking out from every direction… I'm pretty sure that I will not be able to leave unscathed. But when I smelled the scent of nature, the scent that's usually around plants, I was motivated to escape from this Hell-hole.

Well, I did get cuts around me, but they weren't major, thankfully. Once I got to the end of the vent, I saw what was outside. Nature, at last! I'm finally free! With all my might, I hurled myself onto the vent's latch, and pretty much, I broke it down.

Now that I was finally outside, I can wander this world, and spread fear all around. Starting with the denizens of this jungle. No one can stop me from what I am about to do, and my soon-to-be-victims will go through a much more violent and painful way of leaving their life.

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><p>Author's Note: Well? How did it go? I hope it went well. I had quite a hard time coming up with this first chapter.<p>

Please feel free to review. Give me the heads-up when you see anything wrong. I hope you enjoyed this one. This is my second story here.

By the way, I hope you read the note at the start of this page. I warned you about this being rated "M". :)

And if you noticed the way the violence was described, it almost sounds like one of Rapture at Sea's Happy Birthday stories. Actually, it really was his Happy Birthday stories that inspired me to try this story out in the first place. So the credit for the inspirations and descriptions goes to him.

More chapters are to come... So be prepared, for our feathery friends are about to go through a rough time. ;)


	2. Dealing with the USAASF

Author's Note: My utmost apologies for the long wait. It's just that I have another story and some other businesses to take care of. But anyway, the wait is over.

By the way, the USAASF does not exist. It is just my own invention... :)

And there's a surprise at the end of this chapter.

Blargh! Enough chit-chat from me... Here it is! Chapter 2! Enjoy!

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><p>Dealing with the USAASF<p>

Scarlet has proven herself deadly and evil after what she did to those considerably helpless humans. Due to the machine's malfunction, it gave Scarlet a DNA overdose and therefore caused several mutations to her genes. She grew in size, her talons were bigger and more sharply hooked, and she had extraordinary strength.

Gabriel's goals were shattered after the machine's malfunction, and he won't be able to do anything about it. Why? Because he fell victim to Scarlet's reign of terror. How will she be stopped? Who will stop her?

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><p><strong>Scarlet's POV<strong>

Damn it! I was wrong when I thought that I would be entirely free to start my carnage! Right after I busted through the ventilation systems, and after scouting the area a bit, I unfortunately found a lot of other avian creatures going about. And they were not your run-of-the-mill birds. I took a good look at the insignias on their uniforms, and they happened to be of the "United States Anthropomorphic Avian Special Forces". They're operatives who dedicated their lives to serving their country after they recognized their said outstanding abilities. It all started with that eagle known by the name of Alex Eisenhower, the first anthropomorphic being that I have heard of. The humans had observed him for some time, and that's what brought the USAASF to life. If I ever get my talons on that damn eagle, I will surely enjoy hearing his screams of agony as I shred him into pieces.

Eh… I can think about ripping him up later. For now, I've got to get rid of these guys.

I flew from the vent's location and made my way to the top of the building. I was planning to soar above all of them to escape from this damned place, but then I noticed one scanning the area. It was a Green-Winged Macaw who was geared up really well and was armed with a Remington ACR built for his size. He was standing next to what I believed was the building's radar. I quickly made my way to the right side of the roof before he cocked his head partly in my direction.

That was a fucking close one… I thought. If I get caught, I'll have the whole organization chasing my tail-feathers. I took several deep breaths before I thought of making another attempt to go around this guy. All of a sudden, I heard him sniff and say, "What the hell is that stench? It smells like rotting meat!

Damn it! He must've caught the scent of the blood I bathed in. Damn myself, and damn Gabriel! I was both infuriated and worried about being seen, so I eased around the radar housing. Pausing, I peeked around the edge; he was looking straight ahead. I swiftly but silently tiptoed up behind him, preparing to do permanently shut him up before he alerted the others.

Without hesitation, I willed my primaries to harden like steel, turning my wing into an array of deadly blades. I aligned them vertically and shoved them into his back. "Agh-" I quickly draped my left wing over his beak so he wouldn't yell out in pain. Too bad I had to, though. If we were alone, I would have enjoyed tormenting him until he screamed his lungs out.

I brought him quickly behind the radar so no one would see us. That's when I gave myself some brief fun. I removed my wing from his beak and he managed to squeak: "Y-you… Y-you're…"

I gave him an evil grin and dared to reply to his weak and useless being. "That's right. I am the bringer of death, and you are my fifth lucky patron." And with that, I snapped his neck, turning it a full 200 degrees. Thanks to the faulty machinery of those stupid and useless humans, it allowed their "special" DNA strain to merge with my standard makeup and boost my muscular potential. I wonder what other surprises await me, I mused darkly.

I simply let the dead operative's body drop to the roof as I licked his blood off my wing tips. I had killed humans without remorse. Birds were no different. I grew eager to dispose of the rest, and stepped out from my hiding spot.

All of a sudden, something tackled me from behind. The resulting impact caused us to skid across the rough surface of the building. As soon as we stopped sliding, I burst into action. I immediately rolled over and pinned my attacker beneath me. He struggled to rise, and I responded by stomping my foot on his chest – with my talons out, of course. "AAGH!" he yelled, staring up at me with eyes of hatred. His piercing look did not affect me. "You actually decided to strike me? You're the biggest idiot I've seen so far," I said with contempt. I was looking at a pinned Blue-and-Gold Macaw. Too bad he didn't know I was going to murder him. "You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into, you little bitch!" I put more pressure on his chest, bearing down with decent force. I curled my claws inwards, and they sliced deeper into his skin. "AAH! GET OFF YOU WITCH!" He batted me with his wings and tried to squirm away, but I just laughed at how helpless he was.

"I don't think so. All of you worthless beings are going to perish anyway!" Before he could even reply, I leaned over and slit his throat, spraying more delicious life fluids all over me. Man, I loved doing that!

"Mmm… You taste delicious, just like the humans I killed. If only-"

I was cut off when I heard the flutter of wings, and they were coming my way. Shit, it's the rest of the group! They must've heard this guy's screams. I'm fucking screwed if I don't get out of here!

"Hey! There she is! Take her down!" one of the soldiers shouted. They all started spraying their bullets at me. I quickly grabbed the dead soldier's knife and dashed for the surrounding forest. I could probably pick all of them off one-by-one, provided I hid myself fast enough. I decided to leave one alive, so I could toy with him until he died.

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><p><strong>A Soldier's POV<strong>

After spotting her, I saw her grab my partner's knife and dashed towards the forest. I told the other guys to pursue her while I checked on my partner. I hope to God he's alive.

I ran over to check on him if he was alive, and unfortunately, he wasn't. His neck was split open, and so was his throat. I felt like vomiting at the sight. His eyes were open, unblinking and full of despair. "At least your pain is over, buddy. Rest easy, wherever you are." I pulled his eyelids down and took to the sky. Scarlet's going to pay for the shit she did to him! Vengeance is a totally necessary action in this situation! I yelled mentally.

I was about to turn in the direction Scarlet and my other partners flew to, when I suddenly heard gun shots and shouting. They probably intercepted her. Good, I thought. She's got a price to pay.

After deciding that I would mourn for my partner as soon as Scarlet has been neutralized, I streaked through low branches and between hanging webs of vine. That bitch of a Scarlet Macaw's gonna pay for her crimes, I thought angrily as I remembered my partner's dead body and how she had left him.

As I hustled on, the gunshots faded, and so did the shouts. Silence had cloaked the jungle. Oh no… did she kill them all? Please, let them be alright! I landed in front of a thick bush and cocked my head, listening hard for them. What I heard instead made my heart sink to my feet: the sounds of tearing flesh and unnatural snarling flooded to me. I slowly parted the bush with my wings and poked my head in until I could see what was on the other side. When I was able to get a glimpse of what was happening, I realized there would be no hope for anyone who came across the demon.

I saw my other comrades scattered around the area, all dead and mutilated beyond recognition. Some even had either their wings or their legs severed. And when I turned my head slowly to the right, there was Scarlet. She was kneeling over a severely injured Hyacinth Macaw who was still breathing. I couldn't look away, nor could I summon the courage to save him.

He was doomed. I focused on Scarlet, who stared at my partner with a somehow sweet grin. She gently cocked his head to the side and caressed his neck with her blood-stained wing. I didn't know if I was supposed to be disgusted or confused by what I was witnessing. Why is that mutated murderer comforting him? What the Hell!

Suddenly, I heard her whisper, "It's alright. You'll be leaving this world before you can even say 'cookie.' "

Scarlet then opened her beak slowly and went for his neck. She began licking his neck gently, leaving trails of odd-colored saliva on his feathers. I couldn't help but notice him shiver in fear. I shivered moments later. Again, I wanted to vomit at the sight. Why is she doing that? Oh no… don't tell me she's going to…

**Scarlet's POV**

Killing the others sure was fun, but this was going to be fun as well. I knew I was going to enjoy feasting on this worthless being. His heart would soon be mine.

"P-please... I... I have a m-mate and t-three chicks back in S-Seattle. D-Don't kill me..." he managed to mumble. I loved how he begged for me to spare him. He was just wasting his precious breath.

"Ha ha ha! You know what? I don't give a shit about you and your family. Besides, you joined the USAASF. It was YOUR call to join an organization that was experimenting on a monster, and needed you to guard it. I guess they never thought I was going to break free. Well, look at me now!"

"I... I didn't even know… someone like you… could ever exist. Please… just end me q-quickly…"

I smiled at his choice. At least he accepted his obvious fate. "That's the spirit! I'll end it for you, alright… IN THE MOST PAINFUL WAY!"

"AAAGGH-unh-urghhh..." was all he could whimper as I dove for his neck. I dug my beak into it and started draining his sweet, delicious blood, chewing on his feathery skin at the same time. "Oh yeah... you taste so good... mmm... oooh..." His blood seeped into my beak like a raging waterfall, hot and rich. As I chewed on his juicy skin, the fluid that escaped spilled all over the jungle floor beneath us.

As soon as I was finished with his neck, I rolled him onto his back. Then I went on top of him and massaged his chest. His heart was the final prize I craved to claim. In fact, it was still beating beneath his skin. I was about to slowly delve my wing into his chest when he looked at me. The expression on his face pleaded for mercy. I gave him my special evil grin as I prepped my wing for the final move.

"No..." was the final word of the dying little bastard.

"YES!" I yelled victoriously as I plunged my durable wing into his chest. I twisted it sharply, then jerked it back out. He lurched and coughed desperately as I did so, his head rolling to one side. I shoved my foot inside him and shoved his lungs out of the way, caging his heart with my sharp claws. In one studious yank, I tore it clean out of him. A spurt of blood shot from his beak, staining the leaf litter. I held it up in front of me quizzically and thought, I wonder how this tastes? Well, no sense in wasting it now! I tossed the slowly-pulsing thing into my beak, and bit down ceremoniously.

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><p><strong>A Soldier's POV<strong>

"(Humph... bleerggh... BLERGH!)" Shit... I just gagged!

"I cannot believe what she just did. That's it! I'm outta here! I need to call for back-up." I quietly said to myself. I quickly turned around and prepared to fly away, until I heard Scarlet.

"Huh? There's someone else out there, ISN'T THERE?" She growled with intense evil soaking her voice.

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><p>Author's Note: Does the description of the violence inflicted on Scarlet's new victims sound familiar? Well... I'll tell you the surprise behind it!<p>

This chapter has been beta-read and improved by **Rapture at** **Sea** himself!

All the credit for this marvelously written chapter goes to him, and I give him my eternal thanks for offering to help me out with this story! We have agreed to work together on this story. So... expect more surprises, horror and gore in the next chapters. ;)


	3. You Can Run, but You Can't Hide!

Author's Note: Alright… here's another chapter by yours truly with the story's special guest author: Rapture at Sea! Enjoy! :D

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><p>You Can Run, but You Can't Hide!<p>

Ever had a nightmare about some crazy murderer chasing you through the darkness, or at least have been through it? Did you ever feel like you can't escape the murderous and merciless inevitable? Have you seen your closest friend, a family member or at least someone you know die in a morbid fashion right in front of you? Well, we all know for sure that Corporal Dennis, a young Golden Eagle and an operative of the USAASF who witnessed his ally's gruesome passing, gave a check mark to all the questions listed above. Right now, he's trying to run away from the crimson demon known by the name of Scarlet, in which he knows that he has nothing to use against her that will effectively bring her down or even momentarily stun her. His plan is to get far away from her, leave the island, and call for immediate back-up. But will he succeed? Or will Scarlet catch him and mercilessly toy with him until he loses his life? Well… We'll find out… soon…

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><p><strong>Corporal Dennis' POV<strong>

"WHERE ARE YOU, AVIAN SCUM?" Scarlet roared as I saw her soar through the skies, trying to find me with violent desperation. As I sat stationary in a thick bush, hoping that I wouldn't get caught, I felt like I couldn't move my legs. They were trembling due to the fact that that fucked-up experiment is trying so hard to find me, just so she could kill me. Ugh! I can't even forget how that bitch killed my ally! She screwed up his neck, tore his heart out and then ate it! I mean, I'm sure that the memory of that gruesome scene will haunt me for the rest of my life.

As I hid there in the bush, I held on pretty tight to my Mk. 14 EBR. That, my SIG Sauer P220 and a few grenades are my only means of self-defense. One problem though: They won't do much! I'm pretty sure that a bullet to Scarlet's brain is only going to piss her off. There's got to be at least something that can hurt her a bit.

After listening intently, I found out that she wasn't around anymore. I chilled for a bit, deciding that I wasn't leaving my spot until morning.

I eased my grip on my rifle's handle as I started thinking about the future if Scarlet really did take over the jungle. The whole place would be on fire, government agents would be dashing frantically away from Scarlet or trying to fight back. But after seeing what happened back there, I guess it wouldn't matter whether there were more of us than of her. She just took down the whole unit! There were around 7 operatives (excluding me), and she was solely one bird. And what did I find when I got to where they were fighting? All the operatives were dead. Dead! And the last one had to die right in front of me in a fucking bloody-ass way.

Wait... speaking of him... When I saw Scarlet licking his neck, she left a trail of saliva that was colored oddly. And then when I took a good look at her talons when she was about to shove her foot into his chest, they were huge! And if you look at how big she is... she's bigger than your average Scarlet Macaw. Hell, she's even bigger than a Hyacinth Macaw! She's probably just as tall as me! It's probably due to the mutation. God, there must be a lot of other fucked-up things inside her. Who knows? No one will probably ever know because anyone who comes across her gets killed!

Pushing aside my depressing thoughts, I put my wing in my uniform's pocket and took out a couple of photos. One photo had me, a few human buddies and my bird-buddies (the ones who just got killed by that crimson bitch) posed in front of the camera while holding bottles of beer. We were in the meeting room of the USAASF in Washington, D.C. It was the celebration of the organization's success in proving to the whole world that animals, birds especially, can also be like humans. I smiled as tears welled up in my eyes. I considered that day to be one of the best that I had in my life. The date on the photo said, "September 24, 2013."

I turned to the other photo. It showed me, my mate, my two daughters, my parents and my mate's parents, her cousins, her siblings and a few more. We were having a family reunion that day, back in Idaho. The date on the photo said, "January 05, 2014".

Looking at all the smiling faces on both of the photos, tears welled in my eyes. It was too late for my friends. And soon, it would be too late for me. If Scarlet finds me, I'll never be able to see my family again. I wouldn't be able to see my daughters graduate from Idaho's Anthro-School. I placed the photos next to me and buried my face into my wings, crying weakly and hopelessly. "Oh, God... I don't know what to do anymore... I'm afraid to leave this spot. I... I don't want to die, at least not by her hands. I joined this organization to serve and protect, but all of this is just fucking unexpected... with that blood-thirsty demon going around! Oh, Mary, my love... I just hope I could see you and our lovely daughters once more," I said to myself in a hopeless way.

All of a sudden, I ceased my crying as my eyes shot wide open. I heard something emanate from outside the bush, a sound that makes your spine shiver. It was an unnatural snarl, and a fairly familiar snarl too. It did not take me long to find out who created the awful rasps.

It was no other than Scarlet. Damn it! I thought she left!

I quickly picked my photos up and shoved them back into my pocket as I once again held on tight to my rifle. I was shivering twice as hard as before. Just by listening to her demonic sounds, it's as if she's sniffing. Oh, God! She's trying to sniff me out!

"There's no use hiding. I can smell your fear... your sorrow... your anger..." She growled. I know there was no use hiding. In fact, I wanted to run and fly away right now, but terror was pinning my feet to the ground.

As time dragged on, her sniffing and growling got louder and fiercer. The suspense was killing me! I've got to think of a plan to momentarily stun her, otherwise she'll just find me and violently toy with me until my last breath.

Suddenly, the leaves in front of me were slowly rustling, with red feathers emerging from them. Shit! She found me! "Ha ha! I finally found you!"

Without taking second thoughts, I quickly pounced on her, forcing me to reveal myself. The next thing I knew, I was on top of her. She looked extremely pissed. Her glare almost paralyzed me. "HOW DARE YOU!"

Slightly shaking my head sideways as if I was denying something, I raised my rifle and smacked her head with the stock, causing her head to recoil and strike the ground. I swiftly did so multiple times, until she bled from multiple wounds on her face. Once I saw a bit of the demon's blood on my rifle's stock, I quickly got off of her, placed my rifle behind me using its strap and immediately took to the skies. "You'll never catch me, you murderous bitch! I'm not dying today!" I yelled as I flew away from her.

As I flew, I couldn't help but laugh a bit. I mean, I could not believe what I just did back there. I thought she would instantly put me down, but no! I was able to catch her off guard. I felt a bit safe, but my heart was still beating pretty fast. I just kept looking forward, not wanting to look back. For now, I did not care if she was chasing me. All I care about is that I get off the island, get to the mainland of Rio and call for back-up.

A few minutes passed since my assault on her, and it sounded like she wasn't following me. I still didn't want to look back, however. After passing through the low clouds, that was when I saw some of Rio's lights. I looked below me and noticed that I was above another jungle. I trailed my sights around the jungle and it turned out that the jungle I was soaring above of was connected to the mainland. I sighed in relief as I saw all of this. "Thank God! I'm safe from that-"

"GET THE HELL BACK HERE, DUMB SHIT!" Feeling my heart skip a beat as I heard that nerve-wracking voice, I turned around to see Scarlet gaining on me. Oh, God! I thought she lost me! Her bloodshot eyes found their way into my eyes. The sight of her completely enraged scared the living daylights out of me. "AGH! GET AWAY FROM ME!"

I flapped my wings harder in order to increase my speed but to no avail. She was clearly closing the gap between me and her. My breathing became a lot faster, and my heart was beating so hard I felt like I was going to collapse. Oh, God! Oh, God! Oh, God! Please do not kill me! I yelled in my mind. I was really desperate to get away from this beast-bitch.

All of a sudden, she tackled me and held on to me, breaking my flight path as we both fell towards the ground. We were a little high up, so it looked like it was going to take at least 5 seconds before we hit something. "Gah! Let go of me!"

"Never! I'm controlling the chessboard of life, and I'm going to deal with the only pawn, who happens to be YOU!"

After a good few seconds of falling, we got into contact with the leaves of trees and unfortunately, branches. "UGH!" Damn this monster for ruining my flight path! I just hit my rib on a branch!

Pretty soon, we landed on the ground. However, I was above Scarlet! I'm going to have to try and end her, for the sake of the rain forest. "If you want to dominate this place so badly, then you'll have to get through me first!" I yelled as I began wrapping her neck with my wings. She was really trying so hard to squirm out of my grasp as she gripped her wings on mine, but there was no way that I was going to let her break loose. "You're just… easy prey… asshole! I can kill you… just like the rest of your unit… without exerting much effort!"

She then hit a part of my wing that stung really bad, which caused me to loosen up. And then she pushed me off with tremendous force, but I was still able to keep myself up. Without hesitation, I took out my rifle and started shooting at her, desperate to end her before she ended me. I was also hoping that the gun shots would arouse some of the locals, whether they be bird or a human. However, once I started shooting, she got up really quick and strafed around like she was a ghost! I couldn't keep her in my line of sights. "Damn it, Scarlet! Hold still!" I said as I slowly backed away as she was getting closer to me. I continued firing until I heard a click in the gun. Shit! Out of ammo already?

I knew I did not have enough time to reload, so I threw my rifle to the side and took out my pistol. But when I looked back at her former spot, she was gone! With my pistol still up and my wings trembling, I circled in the same spot while looking at my darkened surroundings, trying to find her. Where could she have gone to? I didn't even hear her snarling around me. I adjusted my helmet a bit as it was starting to droop in front of my face. I didn't have the straps on, but I didn't want to put them back on because Scarlet might just see it as an opportunity to catch me off my guard. "W-where are you, Scarlet? S-show yourself!"

At first I didn't hear any reply, when suddenly a feminine voice said, "Dennis is your name, correct?"

"Y-yeah..."

"Oh, Dennis. Just give up. There's nothing left for you in this world."

I was still scared, but I then felt a little anger. "What d-do you mean? I still have my family!"

"Really? Well, I don't think I'll allow you to return to your beloved mate and kids. In fact, I'll see to it that anyone else who sees me will never lay eyes upon their next sunrise. Anyone can merely postpone the inevitable, but they can never hide from it. The same goes for you."

"Please! J-just leave me alone! Or better yet, surrender yourself! You can't go against this place and stay as the last man standing forever, ya know! Someone is eventually going to take you down!" I awaited her reply, but the only reply was an eerie silence. "Please! Just lay off the murderous intentions! Our government is trying to save your species from the unknown decline! Think about it!"

Silence... again. Was she thinking about it? Did I actually persuade her to put her malevolence aside? I waited for what seemed like 3 minutes with my pistol still armed. My heart was beating faster than before. I suddenly had the feeling that she was just waiting for a chance to get me. I was about to ask her if she had thought about it when she suddenly replied. But her voice sounded closer. "I don't give a fucking feather about the rest of my species. It's fine with me if they all end up in Hell!"

That remark got me really good, because my trembling became a lot more vigorous. I was slowly moving backwards as I pointed my pistol everywhere. But suddenly, my movement was stopped by something soft. My eyes shot open with fear. I was sweating from my head to my feet. However, I kept my view to the front. I was afraid to see if Scarlet was the one behind me. There was no more hope for me. I really wasn't going to see my family ever again. Tears of fear and sorrow welled up in my eyes.

"P-please, Scarlet... D-don't do this..."

She replied immediately, but I unfortunately felt her breath on my neck. "Too bad for you, Dennis. My malevolent regime has only begun!"

I felt a sharp wave of pain shoot through my body, accompanied by the sound of flesh tearing. I arched my back and clamped my eyes shut in extreme pain as my wings drooped, making me drop my pistol. When I opened my eyes, I looked down to my stomach and saw a blood-soaked wing sticking straight out of me. Scarlet had pierced her wing through me. I knew then I was finished. There's no telling what she has in mind for me, but all I know is that I will not survive this...

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><p><strong>Scarlet's POV<strong>

Finally! I've got this asshole right where I want him! It felt very comfortable when I impaled him with my wing, his warm blood and his soft innards sticking to it.

Without regret, I pushed him to the ground with my foot, drawing my wing out of his back. The sucking sound was music to my ears. I craved to hear my victim's screams as I tortured him, a bit saddened that he could only die once. I turned him over to his back and sat on him as he stared at me with despair. "Oh Dennis, you look so miserable. If only your family was here to witness your downfall... I'd be laughing my ass off once I see them crying the shit out of themselves!"

He just laid there, completely helpless and pathetic. "Please... Have mercy..."

"Oh, but why, Dennis? You're not the kind of guy who would ever restrict someone's happiness. I was just simply planning to... oh, I don't know... screw with you until you died."

His eyes widened when I said that. Ho ho ho, this is going to be fun...

I got up from him and whipped out my middle talon. I then rested my curved claw between his legs, preparing to make an opening there. "Any last words before I kick off your torment?"

I watched him as he raised his head to an extent that our eyesight got into contact. "Don't kill me... p-please…"

"I was expecting the dying words of honor, but oh well. WRONG ANSWER, ASSHOLE!" I began to slowly dig into his skin with my amazingly huge and sharp talon. Blood was slowly oozing from the opening I was forming. "Aaagghh! Please stop! It hurts!"

"It's supposed to hurt, dumb shit! Now keep your mother fucking beak shut, or I'll tear your tongue out and lodge it into your throat!"

Once I was slicing into him, I smiled. "He he... my foot should be able to fit in there."

And with that, I shoved my foot in, feeling the warm and soft organs squish and slide around. "Ugh... Oh, God...Please stop..."

Ignoring his pleas for mercy, I continued digging around his body. I then stopped at an organ that felt like multiple tubes. I guessed that I had located his intestines. "Oh! I think I got something interesting!"

"No! No! No! NO! AAAGGGHH!"

I pulled the organ from out of the opening and boy was I right. They were his intestines. I held them up as they dripped with blood and other bodily fluids for Dennis to see. "See this? This would make a great party decoration! Ha ha!"

I tossed his entrails aside and shoved my foot back inside him. This time, I was going to aim for his stomach. "I'm going to gut you like a fish until I reach your beating trophy!"

The gutting session lasted for 10 minutes. I so enjoyed his screams of extreme agony. I looked at the jungle floor beneath us, and it was caked in blood and eagle innards. The only things I left inside him were his lungs and his heart. However, I was already satisfied enough with a majority of his insides splattered across the floor, so I cut the chase and prepared to go for the heart.

"My my, Dennis. I for one am delighted by what you have allowed me to do. Too bad you have to go so soon."

He just stared at me with pure dread written all over his face. "Be happy that you'll be leaving your suffering very soon."

I then picked up the pistol he dropped a while ago and pointed it at his chest. When I saw him, he was crying silently. I on the other hand, just smiled. "Don't worry, Dennis. Once I annihilate all of Rio, I'll make sure to put your family on the list as the next patrons. And you'll see them shortly after I kill them."

And with that, I pulled the trigger multiple times. His body jerked as I pumped him full of lead, and little geysers of blood spurted from his beak. The gun finally clicked, signaling it was out of ammo, and I tossed it away. He was still breathing, but it was lusciously slow. His eyes were flooding with tears and blood. I sat on him once more, preparing for the finale. "Good-bye, asshole." I said with an evil grin and plunged my wing into his chest. I twisted it sharply and dug through his lungs until I finally caged my pulsing prize. I pulled it out in a studious yank and immediately gobbled it up.

I gulped the gooey pulp down and swabbed my beak clean, and then I heard Dennis wheeze. "No… how could you? I will… I… unh… urgh…" His head rolled to one side as his chest quit rising, his left eye staring blankly at the canopy above.

"Like I said, Dennis, you'll see your family soon."

I flew off into the sky, leaving the soldier's body to rot. If anyone finds in it the future, they will all see what I am capable of. And no one will be gifted enough to stop me.

Look out, world! Scarlet's just about to get the real party fucking started!

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><p>Author's Note: (Phew!) That's the last bit of this chapter... But that's not the end of it yet... ;)<p>

As a sneak peak for the next chapter, Blu and Eva will be the first ones to find out about the USAASF and the murders that Scarlet had committed.

Anyways, feel free to review. Let me know if something's wrong. Again, special thanks to Rapture for agreeing to help me out with this story! :D (Claps and applause)


	4. A Horrible Discovery

Author's Note: Scarlet's reign of terror stops for a break here. Two characters by the name of Blu and Eva make their appearance here as well.

Speaking of Eva... In my research regarding all of the entries in the Rio archive, Eva has never had a major role in any of them. I thought, "It's time that Eva gets a place under the spotlight for once." There's one problem though. I had to give her first major role in a HORROR story. Oh, well. I'm sure she'll make a great hero. If Jewel can be one, then Eva can be one as well. ;)

Anyway, thank you all for your support, my dear readers! Especially Rapture at Sea for his special assistance! :D

Alright, then! Enough chit-chat from me. Let's get this show on the road!

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><p>A Horrible Discovery<p>

The sun has risen... the wave of light is slowly eating away the darkness. But will it keep away the monster of darkness that now roams and haunts the jungle? Nevertheless, one must always be careful, even if a crimson demon is on the loose.

More units from the USAASF as well as units from the U.S. Army and the Brazilian Army were sent in to investigate. And... they just got their answer.

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><p>"They were all slaughtered mercilessly. My God..." A Peregrine Falcon named Travis, the sergeant of Bravo Team, commented as he looked at his surroundings. Bodies of the patrol unit were scattered around. There were some hanging on branches, beside the bases of trees and in the middle of the barren area. Some of the bodies even had some of their parts amputated. Blood nearly covered the whole jungle floor they were on.<p>

Sergeant Travis was walking around the area where Scarlet murdered all of the patrol unit. The humans and the other units of the Avian Special Forces were scouting the area of the Bio Experiment Institute, looking for survivors.

Travis was new to that level of massacre. Normally, he would see bodies with gunshot wounds or knives sticking into them. But seeing the dead scattered around and brutally mutilated was not normal for him. Luckily, he had the stomach to take in the sight and continue the investigation.

All the bodies he passed by, or at least most of them, suffered the same kinds of fatal injuries, but one body that he suddenly spotted right in front of him caught his attention. "W-what the..."

He jogged over to the body, and what he saw made his heart jump. It was a Hyacinth Macaw operative. His face had extreme agony and fear written all over it, a big chunk of his neck was missing and his whole uniform was covered in his dried blood. "Shit..."

He examined the body more, hoping to unearth clues that may lead to Scarlet's whereabouts. But then he stopped once he saw a big hole in the corpse's chest. He cocked his head in curiosity and slowly put his wing tip inside the whole. He then moved his feathers around and here is what he found out: "Holy shit... his heart's gone!" This sight nearly made him vomit. Of all the things he had to see, it was a heartless body... literally.

Right when he was about to take his tags and do the same with the others, a few of his allies came up from behind him. He looked at them with a saddened and angered expression as he stood up. "Scarlet's going down. She needs to pay for what she did," he said sternly and walked away. As for the others, they took a look at the corpse and were shocked as well. "Ugh... poor guy."

As Travis took all of the dead soldiers' tags, he noticed something odd. He didn't collect everyone's tags. Feeling worried, he grabbed a piece of paper from his pocket, which was actually a list of the soldiers from the patrol unit. "That's odd. I wasn't able to check one name. I got everyone's tags." He kept staring at the name until he realized something. "Hmm... Corporal Dennis... wait... then that means he's still alive! He's probably hiding somewhere in the jungle!" Travis exclaimed his thoughts aloud.

Feeling relieved that someone survived Scarlet's carnage, he called everyone from his unit to give them the mission briefing. "Alright, guys. On me."

"What's this all about? You found some clues, sir?" inquired a Military Macaw.

"I checked this list as I gathered all the dead soldiers' tags. While doing so, I noticed that one name wasn't checked, and that's Corporal Dennis," he said as he showed every one the piece of paper. By the time he said this, everyone started murmuring to each other. "So... you mean to say that he actually survived this sick blood-bath?"

"As of now, that is the only possibility I can think of. He's probably somewhere in the jungle."

Travis looked at all of them and thought, Maybe I can send half of the team to look for Dennis, and the other half can go around to warn every denizen of the jungle.

And with that, he decided. "You boys ready to go inside the jungle?"

"YES SIR!"

Due to their confidence and determination, he put on a smile and gave them the objectives. "Okay, so here's what we're going to do: you need to split into two teams. One team will look for Dennis, while the other team goes around to warn the denizens of the jungle about Scarlet. At first they might not believe you, but just in case, show them the information. This info cannot be classified as it may put lives in danger. Clear?"

"Affirmative!" they all said in unison.

"Now, if any of you are able to locate Dennis, whether he's dead or alive, inform me immediately. Hooah?"

"HOOAH!"

Their mission accepted, they checked their gear and prepared to set out for the jungle. But then they were stopped by Travis and reminded them about something. "Oh, and one more thing: If any of you happen to find Scarlet, do not hesitate to eliminate her. And, for the love of God, do be careful."

The soldiers smiled as they nodded, split into two teams and then disappeared into the green maze of beauty, which was now contaminated by evil.  
>In the meantime, Travis just stood in his place, looking at the list as he pondered about Dennis and his whereabouts. "I hope you're alright. Don't worry. Help's on the way."<p>

Unfortunately, none of them knew that Scarlet had already claimed Dennis's life. And if they weren't careful, she would claim theirs as well.

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><p><strong>Eva's POV<strong>

"UUUUUURRRGGHH... aah..." Nothing felt better than a good night's sleep, and a good morning stretch. My friends and I had quite a party for the whole afternoon yesterday. I'm just surprised that Rafael was still in one piece by the time I got back. I expected him to have bruises or missing patches of feathers, but I have to say... I'm impressed. He was able to survive the kids' reign of childish terror. But that excludes Ryan and Emilia. They're older than the rest of the kids and they are responsible enough to know that others can get hurt from what the younger ones do.

I sat up from the nest, rubbed the morning sand off my eyes (the stuff that forms on the sides on your eyes when you wake up) and cocked my head sharply sideways. I like it when I feel pops there. I then looked to my side and there laid Rafael. Our kids were scattered around the hollow. It's a good thing our hollow is wide, and I have to thank Rafael for that. He's pretty good at choosing places to settle in. "He he... the Samba King's exhausted," I said as I looked at my sweet papaya.

Tired, eh? Well, that got me thinking. Perhaps I could gather breakfast for him and the kids for a change. He deserves the break.

So with that, I stood up from the nest, fixed my head feathers, and leaned towards Rafael's cheek so I could kiss it lightly. "I'll be back, my love," I said silently, hoping that I wouldn't disturb him.

I then went straight for the hollow, until I heard Rafael moan. I sharply turned to face him, fearing that I did disturb him. "Ooooh, Eva-baby... uuunnhh... yeah, that feels good... mmmm..." He said with his eyes closed as he squirmed in the nest and moved his wings as if he was grasping on to me. Heh... he's just fantasizing about me and him "doing it." Honestly, I'd love to do it with him sometime, but the kids are always around. And knowing them, it's going to be really hard to distract them from... what Rafael's dreaming. "Someday, honey. Someday..." I said while smiling at the ridiculous Toco Toucan who I came to know and love.

Knowing that nothing will distract me anymore, I immediately headed out to get some nice fruit for the family.

**A few minutes later...**

Let's see... we've been having the same kinds of fruits for weeks. I'm thinking that it's time to bring in a different flavor. The guys back at home might not like it, but they have no choice. If Spix's Macaws can reach the brink of extinction, then mangoes and papayas can do so as well... at least that's how I see it. "Hmm... perhaps a nice guava would do. Or maybe some grapes and berries. Or... or..."

"..."

"..."

"... mangoes? Agh, darn it! There has to be another kind of fruit that I could bring back!" I was getting ticked off really badly. I'm tired of having the same kinds of food every time! Sure, I like mangoes and papayas. In fact, they're my favorite! But having my tongue deal with the same flavors every time makes eating dull.

Feeling extremely irritated, considering my short-metered temper, I placed both of my wings on the sides of my head and exclaimed, "How hard is it to find a different fruit!"

"Good morning, Eva!"

"EEK!" I suddenly shrieked because a voice greeted me without warning. I quickly turned around, and I happened to find a smiling cerulean bird staring at me. It was Blu. "Woah! I'm sorry. Didn't mean to scare you there, he he."

"Oh... oh... he he. Good morning to you too, Blu." I was breathing quite deeply. I'm easy to surprise at times. "I, uh, I'm pretty sure you heard me shouting, right?" I said while rubbing the back of my neck with my wing.

"Yeah. I saw you perched here, speaking your thoughts out loud. It's got something to do with fruit, right?"

"Yes! I'm just tired of having the same kinds of things every time. Mangoes, papayas... jeez! Is there something different out there that I can enjoy?"

Blu then giggled at what I said. Well, just wait until you feel what I feel. "He he he... how about some strawberries and cream? Alex and I had those when we were in the States. I'm pretty sure they have some here in Rio too."

Strawberries and cream? Is he fooling with me or something? If I want to get those around here, I have to BUY those! I mean, strawberries thrive in the cold, and Rio is obviously the exact opposite. And even if I did have money, the humans would be wondering, "Why the hell is a bird flying around with cash in her talons?" The same applies with the cream. Looking at Blu with my eyes half-closed, I crossed my wings. "You're kidding me, right? Would it look normal for a bird to go around with cash, hmm?"

And with that, Blu just smiled nervously. "Well, um, I guess."

After a while, we just stood there; not saying another word. This was getting me nowhere. Rafael and the kids were probably awake by now.

I was about to tell Blu that I had to go and just get whatever I could find, until he proposed an idea. "Would you want me to help you in your search for new fruit?"

Well, that could do. It's better than having to bring back the same junk or not having to bring back anything at all. "Why, thank you, Blu."

And so we took off. It's really nice of Blu to do such a favor for me. Jewel really is lucky to have him.

* * *

><p>We'd been flying for what seemed like 7 minutes and we still didn't find anything interesting. If we don't find something quick, I swear I'm going to take all my anger out on Rafael... which is not likely to happen because nowadays, he finds ways to calm me down. Sometimes he even tries to seduce me into making out with him. Well, I know that will calm me down but every time things start to get steamy, the kids barge in.<p>

Anyway, during that 7-minute flight, we didn't talk about anything. We were just silent. I hate it when there's silence between me and someone else, especially if the silence is not necessary. Hmm... what to say, what to say, what to say... I thought with nervousness. What is there to talk about? If I were Blu, what would I be interested in when it comes to making conversations? Hmm... maybe he likes talking about mysteries? Oh, which reminds me... before I slept last night, I thought I heard some distant popping sounds. I figured it wouldn't be those tiny fire crackers, since Carnival finished about 3 months ago.

"Um... Blu?"

"Yes, Eva?"

"Did you um... by any chance, hear some distant popping sounds last night?"

Blu looked at me with a look of curiosity. At least I was able to get some talking started. Eerie silences kill me. "Uh, no, Eva. I didn't hear any. Why?"

"Well, it's just that when I got back home from a party that my friends held at the Hip Foliage, I heard popping sounds coming from the distance. You wouldn't think that those are gunshots, right?"

"Eva, I don't think Alex would do target practice in the night. Plus, he conserves his ammo for real emergencies. Besides, he's a good-enough marksman."

"Oh, I know that! But you wouldn't think that those gun shots came from... armed smugglers? Because I- (SNIFF, SNIFF) What the..."

My speech was interrupted when I caught a scent. "Eva? Is something wro-UGH! What is that stench?"

A stench? That's odd. I sniffed again to make sure that I was smelling the scent that Blu smelled as well. And sure enough... IT REEKED! "Ugh! Oh, Deus! It smells like rotting meat!"

And like Hell it did! The stench was strong enough to make me puke! It's either the human butchers in the public Rio Market dumped their left-over meat close by, or someone really IS rotting out there. Which means...

Wait. I'm sure the humans are smart enough to properly dispose of their waste. So if that's not the case, then... Oh, Deus. "Blu? I think I know what's rotting."

Blu then looked at me, disgusted. Clearly, the stench was too much for him. "You do?"

"Yes! C'mon! Let's follow the trail of the stench so we could-OOF!" My speech was once again cut when I bumped into something. And because of that, I lost my flight path. I thought I was going to fall to my death, but luckily, I landed on a lower branch. And whatever, or better yet, whoever I bumped into fell right next to me.

My vision wasn't really blurred up, so I was able to make out the being I bumped into. It was a Military Macaw. I could tell from the green feathers on his face. But something covered the top of his head and the rest of his body. And it looked weird too. It's as if he was wearing some sort of uniform. I wanted to get up, but the impact momentarily paralyzed me. The weird macaw was able to get up. Then he looked at me with concern.

"Oooh... I-I'm sorry, miss. A-are you alright?" His accent... it was like Blu's. Like him, he's probably an American.

He then knelt over to me and gently grabbed my right wing. At least he was gentle. I gladly accepted his wing and helped him pull me up. As soon as I stood up, Blu landed behind the guy with the uniform. "Are any of you hurt?"

"No. We're good. I apologize for my carelessness. I was flying really fast because a weird and strong odor filled my nostrils. It smelled like rotting meat. I was beginning to worry that whoever was rotting was a missing ally of mine." The Military Macaw said as he lightly dusted his dark uniform with his wings and inspected all the weird gear that practically covered him. "Oh, and where are my manners? My name is Allan Collins. Bravo Team Private of the United States Anthropomorphic Avian Special Forces."

W-what? Bravo Team Private of the what? I swear, I felt my jaw drop down when he said all of that. Hell, I could even see Blu's expression from behind this "Allan."

He looked surprised as well, which led him to start asking questions. "Anthropomorphic Avian Special Forces? How come I've never heard of that organization before? When was this organization founded, Mr. Collins? Oh, and by the way... I'm Blu. The one you bumped into by accident is Eva."

He smiled as he shook our wings. "Delighted to meet you two. Uh, I don't want to be rude, but I don't have time to give you the full details of the organization. But I'll just leave you the gist. The United States Anthropomorphic Avian Special Forces, A.K.A. the USAASF, was founded in Washington, D.C., February 13, 2012... 3 years ago. The observation of an eagle named Alex Eisenhower brought this group to life. He was the first anthropomorphic being in the world. The organization is entirely composed of avian beings, such as the three of us. We are a force that is determined to serve and protect our nation, as well as to aid our international allies. In short, we function just like the human military."

Wow! So that means Alex is partially responsible! But then how were they brought into the organization? Is it by their will? Or are they forced to? "Um, excuse me Mr.-"

"Please... Allan would do just fine."

Wow! He's such a gentleman. "Uh, okay. Um, Allan... what inspired you and your multiple allies to join such a group? Aren't humans enough to protect a nation?"

Suddenly, Blu gave me a look of worry. Great... did I say something wrong? "Never mind what I asked."

"Oh, no. It's alright. If you must know, everyone who is part of the organization willingly joined. They were ready to put their lives on the line for others as soon as they found out about their unique skills- Wait... Shouldn't have you heard about this? It was 2 years ago that we were able to prove to the whole world that we could be just like humans."

"I'm sorry. I haven't been watching the news in a while," said Blu. "Eva here is native in the jungle. That's why she doesn't know. She doesn't really have contact with the television at the nearby sanctuary."  
>Allan seemed to have understood. He smiled and was about to say something, but then that damn stench came back.<p>

"Uh, guys? I've got a suggestion. Why don't the three of us find out where this horrible smell is coming from, huh?" I said as I covered my nostrils.

The two birds agreed and after another minute of recuperating, we set out once again.

"If the observation on Alex was responsible for the birth of your org., then you probably know him, right?" I asked with sheer curiosity. It looks like Alex had a lot of friends in his country's government. "Yes, my good lady. If I remember correctly, he's now living somewhere around in the jungles of Rio, right?"

"Yes."

"Oh, I see. What about you two? By looking at your faces when I mentioned his name, you two seemed to know him as well."

"Oh, yeah. We know him, alright. In fact, he's our friend!"

"Oh, then that's good! He's a really good guy! He always likes to give a second chance to everybody." That proves it then. He knows Alex the way we know him.

After a while, we stayed silent... AGAIN! How long must I cope with silences that always seem to be eerie? And this time, we weren't flying anymore. We were WALKING! Ugh... Oh well. I guess a little foot cardio wouldn't hurt. Besides, the odor was getting stronger and stronger as we traveled. Allan must've feared that we would miss whatever he was looking for if we flew. Which reminds me... a while ago, he said that he was beginning to worry about whatever was rotting, and said that it might be his missing ally. If it was, then I pity his dead partner. He probably wasn't used to the jungle, got lost, and then was killed by predators.

After a few more minutes of walking, we stopped in front of a bush. The odor was becoming really intolerable! I felt my last night's meal climbing up my body and making its way to my throat. "I think we're here. I hear flies buzzing. It's probably from the other side of this bush," Allan said as he positioned himself in front of the bush.

Just as he was about to part the bush into two, he turned his head to us and looked at us with concern. "Are you guys ready for this? You might see something pretty ugly."

"Just so long as we get rid of the damn stench!" I exclaimed in annoyance, which made Blu stare at me in disbelief. "What? I nearly puked on the way here!"

And then I turned back to Allan. "Let's go."

Truth be told, I wasn't actually ready to see what's on the other side of this bush. I have this weird and uncomfortable feeling in my guts, and it's telling me that there really is something wrong on the other side. But it was already too late as I had given Allan the go-signal. He nodded as soon as I said so and then slowly started parting the bush. "Alright. Here it goes..."

* * *

><p><strong>Sergeant Travis's POV<strong>

Damn... I searched the whole island that housed the Bio Experiment Institute, and there are no signs of Dennis or Scarlet. Where the hell could either of them be? Perhaps they could be hiding in the jungles of Rio's mainland. The area there is much bigger and either of them could hide anywhere. Hell, they can even hide in the city!

Feeling 100% sure that they weren't here, I took out my radio. I'm going to tell the corporals of both of the teams that Dennis and Scarlet are not on the island. But... once I was about to turn the knobs on the radio, I started hearing a voice from it. "Sergeant Travis! The... found it... Dennis..." I recognized the voice through the intruding static. It belonged to Private Allan. If I understood correctly, he said that he found Dennis. "Private! Say again! I repeat, say again! What about Dennis?"

"... the Corporal... blood... his guts... murdered... (Continuous Static Sounds)."

"What! Private Allan, you there? Say again! What's Dennis's status?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Corporal Dennis is dead! Blood's splattered everywhere in his area! His guts are lying all over the place! And what's more fucking scary... is that his heart's gone! It looks like it's been torn right out of him!"

No... it can't be... "Did you find any clues?"

"I found a few red feathers beside his body. And that can only mean one thing: Scarlet murdered him."

Damn it! Then that means not a single member of the patrol unit survived, and Scarlet could be somewhere in the mainland's jungle! "Alright, then. Take his tags and whatever personal items he's got on him and then start warning everyone about Scarlet. The human officials are already spreading the news about the project's failure in the city."

"Yes, sir."

"In the meantime, I'll tell the rest of Bravo Team about Dennis. Travis out."

Damn it. This whole project was supposed to be a life saver for the Scarlet Macaws. And all it took to ruin it was a machinery error... Bullshit!

* * *

><p><strong>Eva's POV<strong>

After seeing that body, I ran to the nearby bushes and puked out my last night's meal. If it's not the stench, it's the body! I mean, his guts were not where they're supposed to be! His intestines were right next to his feet, his stomach looked like it was forced into his talons and his heart was... I don't even want to be describe it! I didn't want to describe anything, and I didn't want to think about it in the first place! But such a sight could force you to think of it! "How... how could someone do something like this?"

I was waiting for a reply from Allan, who was burying his friend... but he didn't reply. All Blu and I heard from him was heavy breathing. He must be really depressed about his death. Were they close? With our concern growing, we both went closer to him and patted his shoulders. "We're sorry about your friend, Allan," Blu said with truth in his voice.

Allan still didn't say anything, but after burying his friend, he turned and looked at us sternly. We were beginning to worry that we spoke at the wrong moment, and we just stared back at him looking worried... Until he said, "You don't have to be."

He sighed and added, "Look. You all have to evacuate the jungle. It's not safe here anymore."

I was shocked when I heard him say that. Why would it not be safe around here? Is it the predators? A predator could have been the one responsible for Dennis's death. That "Scarlet" person he was talking to his friend on the thing about might be the predator. "What do you mean 'It's not safe?' "

* * *

><p>Author's Note: I'll leave that as a little cliffhanger for you. :)<p>

Finally, Eva gets a major role! However, Rio Fanfiction Lover 72 also has a story that involves Eva a lot. :D

Feel free to review! I'd be really happy to see them. :)

More will come!


	5. When Horror Makes a Comeback

Author's Note: Hello again! I hope you enjoyed the little peace that was placed in the previous chapter. :D

But... that has to go for now, as a serious matter has been left as a cliffhanger there.

This might be a bit short. But I and Rapture will try to at least make it exciting... and a bit humorous. At least the mood would be lightened up a bit before the carnage starts. In fact, carnage WILL return here. That's why the title of the chapter is named as such.

When exactly will the gore return, you ask? Well, let's just say that you'll find out soon enough.

Anyway, enjoy this new chapter, courtesy of me and Rapture! :D

PS: I have nothing against Kipo. It's just that I get too excited that I immediately choose someone for a certain role. But in Tales of an Eagle, him being one of the bullies, yes. That was intentional. But all-in-all, I really have nothing against him. :)

* * *

><p>"When Horror Makes a Comeback"<p>

Seeing a brutally mangled rotting corpse for the first time in reality is not a very good way to start the day. And that is definitely not recommended anytime. However, Blu and Eva started their day that way, and it led to the tough female Keel-billed Toucan (Eva) puking out her last night's party dinner.

But what really got the two worried about is what murdered the eagle, and how can it have the stomach to inflict such damage. And it looks like they're about to find out.

* * *

><p><strong>Eva's POV<strong>

"A WHAT!" I exclaimed in surprise, disbelief and a wee bit of fear.

"Yes. A Scarlet Macaw named Scarlet did this. Hell, she even killed a whole unit of soldiers like me and Dennis! She killed the surviving humans in the Bio Experiment Institute right after the accident! She's clearly fucked up!"

I felt like my head was spinning. I was hoping that this was just a stupid nightmare.

"Keep in mind that she's no ordinary macaw. She's physically mutated, incredibly strong, super stealthy, and creepily attractive. She can attract an unwary male and torture him once lured. At least that's what I think she can do. But all-in-all, she can kill whoever she sees and whoever dares to cross paths with her." Allan said as he held his little gadget thingy with a screen. It was showing me and Blu a picture of a Scarlet Macaw who's in some kind of tube. I stared at the picture and examined it more, while Blu was shivering and stuttering.

"Oh, m-my... You- You mean to tell us th-that she d-did this... to the eagle?"

"M-hmm."

And with that, Blu fell to the ground and laid flat on his back, gazing up in the canopy above. I found it silly for him to act like that. I mean, can't he be as strong as Jewel? Sure Jewel would be shocked to hear such news but she won't be put down immediately. Gosh...

With my eyes half-closed, I went over to Blu and stood above him. I blocked his canopy view and his eyes got into contact with mine. "You know? You won't survive a minute in this jungle if you allow yourself to be beaten by worries like this."

"I can't help it. The sight of that poor eagle... the fact that a mutated Scarlet Macaw did such a thing to him... What if she gets us?"

Okay... He has a point there. I didn't think of it that way. My eyes widened and my wings drooped as realization hit me. "Oh. Good point."

I then lowered myself and grabbed his wing so I could bring him back up to his feet. Once I did that, we went over to Allan, who was checking on his little gadget. "So you want us to evacuate?"

He turned his head to face me and Blu and said, "Yes. As soon as possible, you all need to get out of here. It's not safe here anymore. If Scarlet could take down an eagle and a whole unit of soldiers like me and him, then she could kill all who live in this jungle. Including you two."

I covered my forehead with my wing and shook my head as I tried to register what Allan had told us. Clearly this isn't a nightmare, and trying not to believe this will only waste our time. Aww, Hell! I can even feel chills going down my spine!

We all stayed silent for the time being. Blu was trying not to completely lose his cool. I was still trying to register all of the horrible facts that Allan just mentioned. Allan... well, he's fixing up his gear.

I watched him gear up, He checked his little pockets on his uniform, checked his guns and all other kinds of stuff. And it got me thinking... How does one become an anthro-guy like him? I used to wonder about it and I even thought about asking Alex, but I felt that it would be quite an embarrassment. Don't ask me why, but that's what I felt.

While he was prepping up, I went over to Blu. I was thinking about asking him if we could trust him. "Blu. You think we can trust this guy?"

"Of course, Eva. He's the only one from the three of us who knows about Scarlet and how she murders others. It's a lot safer if we follow his directions. And please heed my words. I know convincing Jewel into doing things is hard but I'm sure you are much harder to-"

I stopped him there with a death glare. He pretty much shrank as I put my glare closer to him. "I-I-I uh... I'll take that part back. Let's just follow this guy's instructions."

With that, I backed up and smiled. "Good."

"Alright! Let's go! We can't stay here much longer." Said Allan as he went over to me.

"Okay. I'll lead the way."

* * *

><p>We've been flying through the jungle for about 20 minutes now. We warned every bird who passed by about Scarlet. Some believed us as soon as we explained everything. The Bio Institute accident and the murders and stuff. But others turned us down. We begged of them to heed our words, but they just ignored us. They probably thought we were crazy. I was getting pissed if you know what I'm talking about. I was on the verge of beating the next guy who turns us down.<p>

Feeling hopeless, I exclaimed my anger in front of Allan as we perched on a nearby branch to rest. "We're getting nowhere! Almost everyone turned down our warning, even if we had the proof! If anyone else turns our warning down again, I swear to God, I will beat the crap out of him or her until he or she decides to heed our words!"

My reaction caused Allan to giggle. I didn't see what was funny. I was being serious. "Oh, you think that's funny, huh?"

"He he he... Yeah. Pffft-he he he..."

Ooh... the nerve on this guy...

"Hey! What's going on out there?" A voice suddenly called out. It sounded near... and familiar.

"Whoever's out there, you interrupted my son's slumber!"

"It's alright, Dad. I'm fine. I slept early anyway." Said a voice that sounded really young.

"Holden, are you even sure you're fine?"

"Yes, I am, "Mr. I'm Too Concerned For My Adopted Son". Ha ha!"

"Alright, alright. Fine, Scarface."

Adopted son? Wait! I only know one person in this jungle who has an adopted son. And that's Alex! We're near Alex's hollow! "Sorry, Alex! Didn't mean to interrupt your son's sleep!"

"E-Eva? Is that you?"

And with that, Alex poked his head out of the hollow. He eyed his surroundings and after a few seconds, he caught us in his sight. "Hey, Eva! Hey, Blu! Hey- Uh, who's that guy in the USAASF uniform?"

I was about to tell him about Allan, but then Allan spoke up in an excited manner. "Red-eyed A.! It's been a while!"

After hearing his voice, Alex's red eyes widened. "Allan? Is that you?"

"Yeah, Eisenhower! Who else would it be? Arlene the Washingtonian Blue Jay?"

**A few minutes later...**

We were invited to go inside Alex's hollow for the time being. His adopted son, Holden Eisenhower, conversed with me and Blu about how he's coping with his new parent, and he seems to be doing fine with him.

Now, about Holden... Like me, he's a Keel-billed Toucan. He lost his parents after they went out to get some food. He didn't know what happened to them until he went out to find them himself. He wandered around the jungle for a few days and nights just to find his missing parents. In the end, he did find them... being devoured by a snake. Capturing the sight in his eyes made him burst into seemingly endless tears, which caused the snake to attack him as well, due to getting caught. The snake's attempted attacks gave him a scar lengthening from his top-right eyelid to his cheek.

Thankfully, Alex was around the area, looking for herbs. He bumped into Holden just as he was about to be eaten.

After killing the snake, Alex made a willing choice to take him under his wing, figuratively speaking. And here he is now.

"I'm fine with my new Dad. Thanks to him, I was able to get over my parents' deaths in just a whole year." Holden happily chirped.

As for Allan, he was conversing with Alex about the good times he had with him in the past and stuff. But after that, things got serious. He began to talk about about the Bio Experiment Institute's accident and about Project: Scarlet's failure.

"Damn... so it's possible that the Scarlet Macaws would go extinct anytime soon?" Alex inquired.

"Yeah. But there's something worse and more terrifying than the extinction of the Scarlet Macaws."

"And what is that?"

"OUR extinction."

With his remark, Alex arched his eyebrow. "How can we become extinct? Our species are not even endangered. At least mine isn't anymore and I don't remember yours going down too."

Allan shook his head and gave him a stern look. When he spoke once more, his voice was soaked with grave feelings. "You really don't know what's going on, do you?"

"No, I don't."

"Christ... Well, you have to know that-"

I know this will lead to him telling Alex everything. And I'm tired of hearing the tragic and fearful events. So I just turned my head to face the outside part of the hollow.

The view was wonderful. The trees around were naturally placed in their perfect spots. If you look straight ahead, you could see the sun reveal itself. It's still morning, so the sun's still bright yellow. Looks like Alex chose the perfect spot for him and his adopted son. One thing's odd though. How can he handle the heat of Rio? I know he's already lived here for 4 years and he's already gotten used to it, but his natural habitat is in the colder regions of the world.

Oh, well. I guess I should just be happy that the heat's not melting his feathers.

I smiled as I gazed upon the view outside Alex's hollow. I let my eyes turn to every direction it wishes to point at. But my wandering stopped as it caught sight of a fruit tree. And it wasn't an ordinary fruit tree. It was a passion fruit tree! Finally! Something different to bring home!

My smile widened more as I continued staring at the fruit. But suddenly, the fruits that I was looking at were blocked... blocked by something red. I narrowed my eyes to get a better view, and when my vision's definition changed, I realized that I was looking at a red bird with colors of blue and yellow. It was a Scarlet Macaw. A female one.

But something's odd about this macaw. Her size didn't seem to fit her species' natural shape. Meaning, she's bigger than an average Scarlet Macaw. I studied her being, only to be suddenly fearfully astounded by her other features. Her talons were really sharp! Not only was she abnormally big, but she also has freaking sharp talons. Big ones too! What on Earth happened to her? And... And the look on her face...

She seems to be smiling in a very creepy manner! And she was smiling at ME! Her seemingly ominous grin sent charges of chills up my spine. What's next is that she elevated one of her wings, pulled out a feather and started slowly waving it repeatedly from the left to the right, as if she was telling me that I was naughty or something.

I wanted to look away, but strangely, I couldn't. My eyes were locked onto her devilish being. I also wanted to tell the others, but something felt like it was holding my beak shut.

As I continued to gaze upon her, I noticed that her beak started to move, which meant that she was going to speak. "I wouldn't do that if I were you... Eva."

How the Hell did she know my name? What's going on? What's going to happen to me? And how could I hear her if I'm in the hollow, and she's further outside? "You shouldn't involve yourself in these kinds of messes. If you continue, your friends will be picked off. One. By. One."

"..." Nothing escaped my beak. I couldn't say a word.

"I'm giving you a choice here. And you know what's going to happen if you give me the wrong answer. So you better heed my words..." I felt my shivering grow stronger. I couldn't feel my legs and my heart was beating really fast.

"Otherwise..." After she said that, she mysteriously disappeared. And I was able to feel my legs again. My shivering stopped, but I was sweating like crazy. Who the Hell was that? It can't be her.

I shook my head a couple of times to make sure I was not seeing things anymore. And once I looked outside again, the creepy macaw was gone.

Feeling relieved, I let out a sigh and put on a small smile as I angled my head until my eyes were looking directly at my legs. 'It's just my imagination. It can't be her...' I thought to myself.

I thought about looking outside again, just to be sure.

So I did...

But when I did, the creepy macaw appeared right in front of me. My eyes widened in sudden and extreme fear as I stared at her cold and murderous glare. "OTHERWISE YOU AND YOUR MOTHER FUCKING FRIENDS WILL END UP LIKE DENNIS!"

After she yelled, I screamed and fell on my back. I even covered my eyes with my right wing like a light shined upon them. "AAAAAGH! GET AWAY FROM ME!"

I'm pretty sure that my scream caught everyone's attention. I wanted to open my eyes, but fear was holding them tightly shut.

Pretty soon, everyone in the hollow was around me and started asking me what was wrong and if I was okay. "Eva! What happened?" Said a worried Blu as he held my sides and lightly shook me.

With my eyes still closed, I stuttered, "F-f-freaky m-m-m-macaw... C-c-colored red... E-evil... Death h-holding... S-s-s..."

"... S-s-scarlet..."

I should have known that she was Scarlet. The abnormalities... Oh, I hope the others spot her before she runs off.

After I mentioned her name, silence followed. I waited for a response from any of them.

"Eva... There's no one outside." Alex said. How can it be? I just saw her right in front of me. And she yelled! How can they have not heard her yell?

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, a lone spoon-billed bird was wandering the dark and thick parts of the jungle. It is rumored that some of the best fruits were located there, but they were guarded by malevolent spirits. Is it all worth it? He doesn't even know what's out there. What's really out there. A creature that's hungry for blood.<p>

"I don't know if what my friends told me was true. But in order for me to find out, I have to venture these so-called cursed areas of the jungle." The bird confidently remarked. Kipo was his name.

His surroundings became dark as he traversed the foliage covered maze. There weren't any other creatures roaming around. They had feared that they would be killed if they trespassed the spirits' territory. Kipo was never really superstitious and was always the adventurous one. So he had no worries about getting possessed and what not.

The silence around him was eerie, yes. But it did not get the best out of him. "If I live to tell the tale and even bring back one fruit, I'll be able to convince almost everyone that there are no such things as evil spirits living in the jungle."

As he continued his journey deep into the dark jungle, he began to hear sounds. But this time, the eerie feelings got to him. The sounds that erupted from what seemed like it was around him made him feel a little uncomfortable. "Okay... This, I did not expect."

**Scarlet's POV**

I see him. My new victim. Oh-ho... His beak's conveniently long. Long enough for me to shove it in his throat! I enjoyed killing Dennis, but this Kipo is sure to meet my violent needs.

The rumors of disappearances and brutal killings by the so-called spirits aren't true, but I will make them true... starting with this lone Spoonbill.

As he cautiously walked along the cold ground, passing many thick vegetation patches, I quietly stalked him, eagerly waiting for the perfect time to strike. I wanted him to experience the most pleasurable time with me. And when I mean pleasurable, I mean PAINFULLY PLEASURABLE. I have given the same treatment to some humans, an eagle and a few macaws. But that isn't enough! I need more ways of expanding my creativity when it comes to the art of torture and death! I need to expand the number of lives I've screwed with and ruined. I will not allow myself to spend a day without thieving at least one soul.

The darkness and eerie silence seemed to have penetrated his mind. I could feel his fear and nervousness rising. I could hear him shiver at the very thought of the rumors his friends told him about. Yes... panic, blood and death are a few of the things I strive for. They excite my mind and body and ignite cravings that I can't refuse.

Seeing that pink bird all shaken up and weak was like a visual drug. I thirsted for his blood. I thirsted for his heart. I thirsted to see him perish in front of me. "Mmm... I can't wait to have you in my grasp."

My whisper caused him to stop dead in his tracks. He began to scan around him, his pupils dilated with fear and his breathing ever so speedy. "H-hello? Is someone there?" he worriedly whimpered. Shit. He must have heard me craving for his life.

"P-please. If- If you're one of the evil spirits, I apologize for my intrusion. I'll l-leave."

And that was my cue.

I jumped out form behind my hiding spot, which was a large tree that was right next to him, and landed right in front of him. My sudden appearance made him gasp in shock and stumble backwards. I flashed my signature smile and peered into his fear-filled eyes. "Greetings, lucky one."

He was paralyzed with ultimate dread. All he could do was stare back at me. "W-who are you?"

Slowly advancing to my frightened target, I placed a wing on my chest and introduced myself. One must be polite before starting a slaughter-fest, no? "My name is Scarlet, dear fellow."

"A-are you one of the s-spirits?"

"Spirit? No. I'm just a flesh-and-bone macaw who happens to be quite hungry today." That was the complete truth. The gnawing in my stomach needed to be satiated, and he was going to be my main course. But first I have to prepare my meal, which most people would call torture. I kept my pace and continued to close the gap between me and him. His expression of uncertainty was still glued to his face. He probably understood my message. But just in case, I spruced it up for him. "If you don't know what I mean, then let me explain. You were curious about malevolent spirits haunting this very patch of the forest, huh?"

"Y-y-y-yes."

"Then let me get this into your head. Those 'spirits' that you and your friends speak of... they're not true. They're just mere stories and fairy tales that parents tell to their children during bedtime."

"Phew! Then that must mean I'm safe... right?"

My smile widened after his question of uncertainty. He wasn't anywhere near safe. Not while I'm around. And soon, this whole jungle will never be safe! "You're getting colder on that account. You were doomed the instant you laid eyes on me. Simply put, your journey ends here."

His eyes widened in shock and disbelief. I could tell his legs were trembling as his heart was beating lusciously fast beneath his chest, the pulses calling out to me. Oh, I couldn't wait to plunge my beak into his flesh and feathers and shred him up, to grab his limbs and snap his bones. Such audacity makes me so... giddy. "W-what do you mean? You're not going to kill me, are you? I-if this is your territory, then I'll leave."

Leave, eh? Well, that's not going to make me happy. "Oh, but I won't let you."

I was going to charge towards him and pin him to the tree right behind him. But then I felt something convulse inside me. I cringed at the feeling, and before I could even make a sound, the skin over my spine split like a banana being peeled. I screamed in pain as I collapsed to my knees. My smile disappeared and morphed into a frown of extreme agony.

In the midst of my shouts, I heard the Spoonbill gasp. But then he was suddenly cut off. I lifted my head to see what had happened. When my vision began to clear up, I noticed that he was still there, but two slimy things were wrapped around him and his beak. They were like long pink vines riddled with blood vessels slathered in scarlet. I had to assume it was my blood. I traced them back to their source, and a most interesting sight revealed itself to me when I turned my head around. The two naked vines. At first I was a bit confused. But after a while, I began to realize that my physical makeup had gained a new feature. The searing miasma from the middle of my back was the sign of their emergence. I... had grown a pair of TENTACLES! And they were already gripping very tight on my victim's body and beak.

My evil smile returned and all the pain went away. My torn flesh crawled and sealed itself back together, the unpleasantness lasting for only a few seconds. Feeling re-energized, I stood up and trotted to his position. Once I pulled a stop in front of him, I peered into his eyes. "You think you could get away from me, did you? Well, I'm truly sorry… what was your name? Um... Kipo!"

Again, his eyes widened. But this time, it was due to the notion of his coming defeat. He couldn't do anything except try to squirm out of my grasp. I could feel the tugging transmitted to my body via the tentacles, but I was much too strong to be moved. I wasn't going to let him go, no matter what. "Aw, you're probably wondering how I know your name, huh?"

"Mff! MMMMMMMFFFFF!"

"What's that? You want me to start the party? Sure!"

With that being said, I flailed my tentacles around and forcefully threw him into the trunk of the tree behind him.

The impact with his body and the tree trunk sounded with a pleasant thud. His eyes closed in the resulting pain. I could hear his muffled voice. He so wanted to scream in order for the pain to alleviate a bit. But I didn't let my grip loosen. We may be in an isolated part of the forest, but that doesn't mean that nobody could hear his screams. One must be careful when it comes to tormenting an individual.

Once he was surely pasted on the tree's trunk, I fully closed the gap between me and him and poked his stomach with my sweetly hooked talon. "Pudgy, don't you think?"

His response was a desperate whimper. It sounded like music. "Ooohh... Yes. Your cries and whimpers of fear really make me giddy. I can't wait to spill your insides all over the place."

Still looking at his now teary eyes, I lowered my foot while trailing my talons against his feathers. I was aiming for his leg. The top part of his leg, that is. He shuddered as my talons tickled his feathery skin.

Right when I reached the top section of his thigh bone, I focused one of my talons on it, preparing to dig in and feel his warm life fluids. "Are you ready?"

"MMMM! NNNN!"

"I'll take that as a yes."

Thus began my play time.  
>I forced my focused talon into his skin, feeling the blood soak the natural blade. Every inch that I covere, Kipo flinched and screamed out muffled sounds. If only we were in a place where no one could find... I could listen to his screams liberally without having to worry about anyone hearing him.<p>

I continued to force my talon in until I felt his thigh bone. I forced a smile once I touched it. I couldn't wait to pull it out. "He he. Don't worry. This is only going to hurt a lot."

Ignoring his muffled pleas of mercy, I inserted my other talons, wrapped the bone around my foot and tugged it weakly. He whimpered more in the ensuing pain and agony. "Aw, does it hurt? Good! I'll make it hurt MORE!"

And with that, I hardened my grip on the bone and pulled it out with no trouble. The sound of flesh tearing and blood spilling and the agonized muffled yell of pain echoed through the silent jungle. Hell, even the blood splattered on my face! Reminds me of when I pulled Dennis's heart out. Ah... good times.

"I want you to scream, but I don't want any other birds hearing you."

"PLTH!" he muffled with tears rolling down his face. When I looked into his eyes, I saw plenty of negative energy inside him. And I felt pretty good making him emit them all. "Oh-ho! There's more where that pain came from!"

Tossing away his bone, I closed my eyes tightly and began to make raspy growling sounds. With the new feeling on my back, I tensed the muscles there to release another surprise. My intention was to grow out another tentacle. "Nnnnnggh! Rrrrgghh! Aaaargh!"

And sure enough, it did. A third tentacle spurted out of my back, showering more small droplets of blood on the ground. I opened my eyes one more time and peered at him with the most devilish grin I have ever produced. "Wanna know where this will go?"

Kipo shook his head sideways, as a response that meant no. Well, that's a shame. "Hmm... too bad. I might as well show you."

I didn't want to waste any more time, honestly. So without taking any second thoughts, I quickly trailed my tentacle down to the hole I made on his leg and simply entered it. I dug deeper inside his leg and then went upwards. Before long, I felt my tentacle touch his innards. I guessed that I made it to his intestines.

"Ooh! My favorite!"

"HNNNG! PLTH NNN!"

"Aw, don't worry. I'm only gonna pull it out."

"NNNN!"

"Cry all you want, you little bastard. I'm not going to feel any sympathy for you."  
>I then hung my tentacle onto his soft gut and pulled it downwards. I led it all the way back to the hole I made on his side and dragged it out, causing him to release more muffled screams and cries. But you know, since we're deep inside an isolated part of the forest, maybe no one could hear his screams. I guess I could let him cry out his delicious music.<p>

So I unwrapped his beak, but kept the assigned tentacle hovering above him just in case. "AAAAAAAGGHHHH!"  
>I couldn't help but laugh at his expression. It was just so priceless. A teary-eyed snitch who just emitted his full scream power all because of pain. Just how I like it. "Ha ha ha ha! Man, I love hearing that!"<p>

"Agh... why are you doing… wha... what are you?"

Wow. Not only is he going to taste delicious, but he's also going to sound stupid when I chew on his being. But since he asked, I might as well be polite and answer. So I sneered into his eyes and wrapped his beak again with the assigned tentacle. "What am I? I, sir, am a fucked up Scarlet Macaw who's out for blood. Whatever fucked me up turned me into this. And I LOVE it."

Not giving him a chance to make even another muffled whimper, I shoved my tentacle inside him again and went for his wishbone. Like what I did to his thigh bone, I tugged it a few times before I actually yanked it away.

The white shape burst from the hole, thus making sounds of bone crushing and organ mushing. The Spoonbill's body deflated, his blood rushing from the hole like a faucet. His eyes bulged and looked like they were going to pop out.

Such a sight made me smile, as usual.

Knowing that his now-deflated body served me no purpose anymore, I tossed it away. I then put all my tentacles in my back and piled the Spoonbill's organs tohether. The sight made my beak water and it forced me to lick my beak. I know this is going to be scrumptious. "Oh, I'm going to love this."

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Well, that's done. Sorry for the late update. I've been busy over the past few weeks, and I'm going back to school soon. But that doesn't mean that I'll stop. Of course I'll still continue what I started.<p>

However, they might not be as fast as they would usually be (minus the responsibilities). XD

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. The next one is called "Dead Jungle" (in reference to the game "Dead Island"). :D

Reviews are greatly appreciated! Any oddities that I or Rapture missed... you know what to do! XD

We'll see you all in the next! :D

Once again, thanks, Rapture! Thank you very much! ;)


	6. It Can Spread!

**Author's Note: Wow, it's been a while since I updated this. XD**

**Anyways, hi again, guys. Me and Toltec Spirit (formerly known as Rapture At Sea) are still together in this story, so yes, this will go on. :D**

**I'd like to put in more words to say, but I'll just say that at the end of this chapter.**

**For now, enjoy. :D**

* * *

><p>After a bit of talking and info sharing with Alex, the three prepared to leave so they could warn more birds of the coming chaos that is Scarlet, and maybe even do some investigating.<p>

"Alright, Alex. Thanks for the time, bro. You stay safe with your son, alright?" Allan said while giving him a pat on his back.

Of course, Alex knew plenty about keeping a low profile and staying safe. At the same time, he wanted to help his friends, but he couldn't risk losing his adopted son.

The eagle breathed in a bit and then said, "Alright. Watch your backs, you three."

* * *

><p>"We need to get to the lab. That's where it all started. Maybe we can find some clues there. Only one problem though: The place is guarded by soldiers like me."<p>

"So, how are we gonna deal with that?" Blu asked.

"Well… I guess I'm gonna have to go rogue for now and infiltrate the lab. I'm already disobeying orders, but if it's gonna get us somewhere, then so be it. It's for the good of all life in this jungle."

Going rogue… that's something Allan wouldn't do. But he had to, for the sake of the inhabitants of the jungle. Blu and Eva could see his determination, considering that his friend fell victim to Scarlet.

"There's a designated area for a meet-up with the rest of my team. It's not far from here, and it's also close to the cliff that overlooks a majority of Rio."

Blu knew that cliff area. It was where he and Jewel jumped off in an attempt to fly, only for him to throw away every bit of his courage and fall, bringing Jewel down with him.

"We'll get there. C'mon, Eva," the male macaw said, beckoning with his wing.

As the two separated from Allan, he yelled before they flew out of sight, "Don't get lost! It's almost night time!"

When the two disappeared, Allan shot up to a tree branch and perched there for a while. He shook his head and breathed steadily, trying to get over the tension that grew in him like a young plant.

He was a hardened soldier and it would take more than anxiety to bring him down.

But going against a threat he had never faced, a threat that had dispatched soldiers like him with sickening ease, was very different and much more intense of a feeling.

"Ngh… I just want this to end. No more bloodshed. No more death. No more of that _bitch_."

After sitting there for a full two minutes, he huffed sharply, marking a rise in confidence, and took flight.

"I'm gonna find you, Scarlet. And when I do, I'm gonna take you down, even if it costs me my life."

Hours had passed since the trio split. Passing by some of the inhabitants of the jungle, Blu and Eva were able to give them advance notice about Scarlet's presence in the area.

Luckily, they had heard about the murders, especially Kipo's death.

Aware of the dire threat she posed, they heeded Blu's and Eva's words without question. The various solo birds and families alike took off mainly to the north, rocketing deep into the uncharted rainforests miles and miles away from Rio.

When early evening came, Eva informed her not-so-sex-hungry companion that she had to return to her hollow and tell her mate and kids to evacuate. She also planned to urge Jewel and their kids to do the same.

Blu insisted that they go together, but Eva refused and told him to go and meet with Allan's team.

"No, Blu. Go there and stay there. I'll follow. I just need to warn our families so that we'll know they'll be out of harm's way. I'll get back with you as soon as I can."

"B-But, Eva, I-I-"

"No 'buts', Blu. I'll handle my end, and you handle yours. Got it?"

Eva stared him down, and he didn't have the heart to refuse.

"I… I got it, I guess. Don't get yourself killed, alright? You're a colorful toucan in a mostly-green environment. Scarlet can spot you without even trying."

"Don't worry about me, Blu. I'd like to see her try."

"Good luck, and please hurry back, so I don't end up as a nervous wreck."

"Yes sir," she answered, and then streaked away on her jet-black wings.

Blu watched her receding form until the foliage swallowed her up, and then sighed depressingly.

He pinpointed his position and where his destination lay, and then set off. He glided low to the ground, maximizing the chances that he would slip stealthily under Scarlet's field-of-view.

"Ugh… I didn't sign up for this. All I wanted was to live peacefully here with my mate and my kids. I guess it's not exactly time to accomplish my happily ever after…" he grumbled.

Allan's team was nowhere to be found when Blu touched down in the designated spot, leading him to think he had arrived early. Of course, it was also possible that Scarlet had slain them, but Blu didn't dwell on _that_ thought for long.

His fright level was higher than when he was trekking through the jungle at night the day he met Jewel. He might have been on edge, but he made it through without getting injured or eaten.

But now he was wandering the sanctuary… alone… while a demonic bird was on the loose. If they crossed paths, there would be no hope of escape or a second chance at life for Blu.

Scarlet would brutally end him, because her _modus operandi_ was merely kill, kill, kill.

That's when he heard a rustle.

Whirling around, he saw a large fern frond directly behind him swaying back-and-forth, as if it had been disturbed.

"W-who's there?!" Blu demanded in a jittery voice.

The terrified male macaw shivered, searching the canopy and then the bushes to see if he could catch sight of his potential stalker.

He saw nothing or no one, and his ghostly pursuer was nowhere to be found. The light of the afternoon sun was slowly fading away so that the moon and her loyal stars could take over.

"Darn it! Where are they? Oh man I hope we group up soon. I can't deal with this solitude! And ew… what is that smell? Yuck! It smells like… oh no…"

The "clue" that the demon had recently been near that very location was hovering in the air, and Blu picked it up with a sniff.

It came in the form of the foul stench of dead bodies that had decomposed under the twin effects of the humid atmosphere and relentless sun. That very odor was making Blu sick to his stomach, and he had begun to regret accompanying Eva in the first place.

"We can't fight Scarlet anyways. No one can! I shouldn't be trying to locate her… I should be staying away from her. I want to leave, but I can't."

When Blu mentioned Scarlet's name, he heard a small snicker. An evil snicker, that is.

The blue bird felt a cruel chill crawl down his spine. But maybe… it was Eva. Maybe she was playing a trick on him to try and lighten his mood.

"E-Eva?! Is that you? Please , if this is some kind of joke, knock it off! It's not funny anymore!"

He expected to hear her accented voice respond. But all he heard was another snicker… followed by a growl.

The pupils in his eyes shrunk to tiny dots, and poor Blu faced the direction from where the noise had originated. He began taking slow steps in reverse, shivering all the while with his wings wrapped around himself.

"O-Okay, m-maybe you aren't Eva. But if you're a creature who can talk, I would love to know who you are…" he said, gulping as he finished his sentence.

He waited for responsible party's answer, only to be greeted by uncomfortable silence, minus the squawking of distant macaws.

He continued to inch backwards, hoping that he could slip away and find Eva before his unseen pursuer came upon him. However, he abruptly stopped as he bumped into something.

Something soft and feathery.

He assumed it was Eva, and he sighed in relief without thinking.

"You've had your… um... fun… Eva. We need to get out of here, and I mean now. The smell is horrible… and I think we're being followed. Allan's team isn't coming, for whatever reason."

"Oooh, what do we have here? A fancy male macaw, that's what. Are you lost, big guy? Maybe I can help you find your way back home."

Hearing the voice, Blu's eyes widened. His pulse came faster and faster, his heart pumping double-time in his chest. His beak opened partway, but nothing came out.

The demon was standing right behind him.

"Scarlet…"

"Oh, so you know my name, do you? Have you have heard of my great works, hm? Were they friends of yours?"

Her tone was proud and sadistic, and only someone as insane as her could speak in such a way. Allan was right; she was corrupted in both mind and body.

Breathing hard and smitten with dread, he turned around to face the being who would soon steal the life right out of him.

"Please let me go. I… I won't tell anyone… you're here. I promise. Just please… don't kill me…"

"Let you go? Ha ha ha, that's a good one! We just met, so how can I trust you, hm? You'll probably squawk as soon as I'm out of earshot. Your begging won't save you now…. Blu, isn't it? Yeah, I know who you are."

Scarlet leaned in so close that their beaks touched, and she pierced him with a look so intimidating that he was paralyzed with fear.

"I don't let anyone go, you worthless, unfortunate pile of feathers. I'm going to mutilate you so viciously you'll be wishing you died as chick."

With that, she grabbed ahold of his chest with her foot, her claws curling in and drawing blood.

He grunted in pain as she hoisted him off the ground with little effort, his feet dangling in midair.

In a flash, she bashed her skull against his and knocked him dizzy, then whirled around and hurled him across the mini clearing they were in.

He struck the ground belly up and skidded a good foot or so before coming to a stop. He lay there in a daze, a dull moan of pain and confusion escaping his beak.

He eventually lifted his head, trepidation and a sense of impending doom stabbing him right in the heart as he saw Scarlet advancing towards him.

Her stare was malevolent and her footsteps were menacing, and his survival instincts – though futile – took over. He scooted in reverse at a snail's pace while in a sitting position, using his wings to keep him upright while his feet dug into the earth and pushed him further away from her.

"No… I don't want to die… I want to live... please…" he muttered.

She increased her walking speed, closing the distance between them.

"You're so pathetic, so weak, so pitiful. All the more reason I'm going to slaughter you now," she said scathingly.

She caught up to him three seconds later, stomping on his tail with her left foot as she brandished a hateful frown of irritation.

"Don't make this harder than it has to be. I'm warning you, Blu."

Blu's feet scrabbled and carved furrows into the turf, but he was unable to move any longer. In an act of desperation, he kicked at her left leg. His claws swiped across her skin, but it was thickened due to her transformation and didn't suffer even a scratch.

But that was all it took to provoke her.

"I warned you to stop resisting, and you didn't. And so begins your punishment," she said, her tone as cold as polar ice.

She balled up her right foot and landed a nasty kick directly to his exposed cloaca.

His back arched as if he was being electrocuted, and from his beak erupted a feral scream of crippling agony.

"AHHHH! AHHHH!"

The volume of his scream made the air vibrate, and if other avian creatures took notice and tracked it down, they would be a definite distraction.

As he let loose a third yell, she slammed her right foot down upon his throat and crushed it, silencing him immediately.

His wings grabbed at her immovable limb as he was deprived of oxygen, his body weakly flopping around to try and dislodge her. It wasn't working, and he choked madly for air as the whites of his eyes faded to a pale blue color.

"You see what happens when you piss me off? I put you through a living hell!" she said in a biting whisper.

His wings fell away and his eyes briefly rolled back in his head moments later, and she realized he was on the verge of passing out. If he did, she would have to wait until he regained consciousness to torture and ultimately kill him.

Applying a dose of common sense, she jerked her foot away and set it down on the right side of his tail, now standing over it.

He gasped and spluttered as his airway flew open once more, his intense exhalations and exhalations hoarse and labored.

"Now do you feel hopeless? Like you're a dead bird walking? It's the worst feeling in the world, isn't it? Even worse than the pain of getting kicked right between your legs, huh?"

A defeated Blu did not respond, laying there with his half-conscious gaze glued to the treetops as his chest heaved in and out.

"You do not deserve to exist on this planet. Your purpose now is to give me the satisfaction of watching you die."

"You… you can't… do this. I… have a… family. Unh… go away… and leave me be… you sick… twisted… thing…urgh…"

"Oh, you have a family? So some deluded female thought you were hot stuff and decided to let you squirt some cream into her doughnut? Aww, that's just too bad. I hope she finds your lifeless shell, so that she gets a firsthand look at what's going to happen to her when I find her. That's right, I said when I find her."

One of Blu's wings slid down to press against his bruised cloaca, and he used the other to force his upper body off the ground.

"Don't you… dare… lay a claw… on her. I swear… I will haunt you… for the… rest… of your sinful… life…"

"Oh ho ho, brave words for someone who's about to get exterminated. Ghosts aren't even real, you moronic bastard, and even if they were, I wouldn't be scared of you. You're finished, Blu. I'm the dominant bird in this food chain, and you're nothing but a meal to satisfy my hunger for carnage.

She secured an unbreakable hold on his chest and chucked him at a nearby tree, hearing his spine meet the bark with a dull crack.

With that last jarring impact, every last shred of hope was knocked clean out of Blu. He was going to perish and be yet another victim of Scarlet's rampage, and no one was capable of saving him from his grisly fate.

The scared macaw slumped where he sat, infinite despair wracking him from head to tail. Scarlet came over and towered over him, casting a black shadow over his body that chilled him to the core.

"This jungle is mine now, do you understand? I'm going to tear apart every bird, reptile, and human that gets in my way. That is my final lesson to you."

She squinted her eyes, and a fleshy pink tentacle emerged from the middle of her back. It weaved through the air and coiled once around Blu's chest, the pulsing blood vessels on its surface providing oxygen to the rippling muscles beneath.

"I'm going to savor these final moments as I squeeze the life out of you, so you should savor them too, Blu."

The alien appendage constricted, and Blu's lungs burned as they were denied the ability to expand all the way.

"Scarlet… please… spare me… oh God… please!"

"That's a no-can-do, Blu. Do you want me to whip out another tentacle and use it to hold your beak shut?"

Blu did not communicate an answer either way, and the sticky rope contracted even tighter. Blu's bones could not hold back the pressure, and no matter how hard Blu willed his muscles to relax so he could inhale, they couldn't obey.

"S-stop… no… I can't… b-breathe… unh… ack… stop… please…"

Blu's pupils dilated to pinpoints as he consumed all his available of oxygen, and his hold on consciousness was weakening by the second.

In a last-ditch maneuver, he let his head droop forwards. He latched his beak onto the living vine and bit down as hard as he possibly could.

Scarlet felt the tiniest of twinges, but his actions surprised her so much that she loosened the tentacle's grip.

He fell into a coughing fit as she said, "My, aren't you a devoted one? You're truly not going to give up until you're dead, are you? For not having any guns or knives or grenades like those soldiers had, you sure got some balls to stand up to me like that."

She retracted the tentacle and held it in the air while staring at Blu's squirming form thoughtfully.

"You know… I think I can put your courage to good use. I've always wanted to create a partner in crime, but none of the others I've maimed were worth it. But you… I think you are worth it."

The tentacle retreated into her back, and she held her wings against her stomach as if she was feeling for eggs.

There was a pause, and then a sinister grin surfaced on her beak.

"Ahhh… there it is. It's finally ready for a suitable host. And that host just happens to be you, Blu."

Scarlet squished her body up against Blu's and unfurled her wings, placing them against the bark on either side of his neck.

"I have a parting gift to give you, Blu. It's something I've never shared with anyone else. "

She leaned in close, blowing a cloud of her abhorrent breath all over Blu's face.

"I'm going to make you turn out just like me, Blu. Open wide…"

The horror of it all was too much for Blu, and inadvertently, his beak halves separated, just as she wanted them to.

She rammed her beak against his and turned it perpendicular to his, giving her maximum access to his oral cavity. Her tongue extended to its full length and dove two inches down his throat, holding it open.

He began gagging and thrashing around, but she was a statue who could not be moved with any amount of physical force.

"Mmm! Mmm! MMM!" was all he could say, violated by the feeling of being deep-throated by the tongue of the demon herself.

Scarlet's throat then contracted in reverse, a series of ripples going up her neck that ferried the parasite she was carrying up her throat and into her beak. The slug-like thing used her tongue as a guide and wormed its way along, leaving her beak behind and entering his.

It deliberately allowed its saliva-and-goo-covered body to slide off of the tip of her taste organ, plunging down through the tube that led to Blu's stomach.

She extracted her tongue and took a step back, wiping the saliva off her beak and crossing her wings.

The visible bulge beneath Blu's skin traveled ever-downwards, and he strangled himself with his wings to try and halt its progress.

But he did not succeed, and it passed by his wings unabated. The bulge diminished and then disappeared as the slug arrived at its destination, and Blu's wings fell to his sides.

Scarlet let out a sigh and said, "Well, my work here is done. You'll enjoy what that has in store for you. Once it gets into your brain, it'll be game over for you. You'll be nothing but a bloodthirsty savage who will kill the animals he comes across and dine on their warm flesh. After you've spilled some blood, preferably the blood of your mate and your children, come and see me, won't you? I'll be waiting, angel-turned-accomplice of mine…"

With that, she spun around and blasted off into the forest, cutting through the foliage like a blade and vanishing in three seconds flat.

The slug writhed in the stomach of its host, unharmed by the digestive juices thanks to the slimy ooze it secreted from its smooth body. Once it made sense of its surroundings, it would spring into action and fulfill its penultimate duty.

Blu himself was silent and unmoving, in utter, immobilizing shock after being orally raped and having something injected into him. His beak hung open, drool spilling from it constantly and dribbling onto his chest, then snaking through his plumage like rivers of gel.

His stare was vacant and his mind was blank, wiped clean by the nightmarish things Scarlet had done to him. His throat was raw and unbelievably sore, and his chest ached immensely with every too-slow breath.

His mortal body was incapable of coping with the onslaught, and his system collapsed and went into shut down mode.

"H-help me…" he moaned to no one but himself.

He coughed one last time, ejecting a blob of clear saliva that splattered on the earth. His eyelids fell down over his eyes, and he sank to the ground until he was reclined on his back, his wings sprawled out on either side of him.

He went into a dead faint right then and there, his shuddering chest the only sign that he was even alive.

The sun beat down on his battered body, heedless of his plight as his plumage sparkled under the influence of his rays.

Blu was enveloped in total silence, the faraway macaws no longer squawking and stimulating his ears. He lay there like a zombie as the slug heeded the call of its biological destiny, preparing to set out on a journey through Blu's body.

Saliva piled up in his beak and streamed down the sides, and he began to soak in the pool that formed behind his head and spread outwards in all directions.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>So, this concludes the end of Chapter 6. Hope you like it. :D

I'm not sure if the same readers who read this are still connected to it, even after my long hiatus. But even though, I'd like to give my thanks to you readers, and very much with Toltec for helping me out with this.

Anyways, see you all in the next chapter! :D


	7. A Moment of Hope

**Author's Note: Hey, guys. Sorry for the slow-ass updating. Things have been going down the hill lately for me. With college slowly closing in on me, I had to partake in a lot of events which prevented me from updating this as soon as I could. The past few weeks have been burning hell for me as I am also recovering from a high fever.**

**Dunno how worse things can get for me, but I can shake 'em off for now.**

**So, here it is. For the readers of Tales of an Eagle, the next chapter is on its way.**

**My apologies, readers, and especially to Toltec Spirit. ;_;**

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><p>"Let's face it, Mac. We're lost!"<p>

"But… I could have sworn the rendezvous point was just around here, man. I swear."

"Well apparently, it isn't. And wasn't that Blu guy supposed to be here?"

Two of Allan's squad members had already taken a head start, as ordered by Sergeant Travis himself. Both of these birds were falcons, just like Travis. Allan was en route to their location. Thanks to his mini-PDA, their vitals are synchronized to his gadget and he can track them with it.

Unfortunately, neither of the two falcons was sure if they were at the rendezvous point or not. "This is just crap, man. I swear, if we were the bosses of this world, the human poachers wouldn't stand a chance against us, and then this experiment to genetically make copies of birds to prevent extinction wouldn't happen, and then that Scarlet bitch wouldn't be loose in this jungle."

"Well, I'm sorry, Tony. It all happened anyway. Were up to our beaks in crap."

Flying all the way from the island the institute was located and then searching for the meeting place exhausted the two birds. Mac decided to take a breather and perch on a nearby branch. Tony did the same. "I think I'm losing it, man. I used to last longer than this."

"C'mon, Mac. We ain't old yet. It's just the gear that's weighing us down."

They both thought that taking a short break would clear their minds, and when it did, they would head out and locate their navy companion.

Little did they both know, however, that they truly were in the right spot, and that Blu…

… Was just behind some bushes underneath their perch.

...

The shivering macaw lay on the cold ground, fearing the slug that Scarlet had put in him, what he might turn into, and what it might do to him. She said he was going to "turn out just like her" and become a "bloodthirsty savage." If his soon-to-be-possessed body crossed paths with his friends, Jewel and their chicks-

No! He swore in his mind. I won't turn into a monster. I can find a way out of this mess! I just need to find Allan's soldiers and help them kill Scarlet. I can't let them know what she did...if worse comes to worse… I'll just have to fly far far away…

Trying to scrounge up some courage, Blu slowly stood up on his legs and shook himself. He felt a bit better, but he was still shivering from the after-effects of the infection.

"Okay…" he noted himself, "Time is running out for me and everyone else. We have to kill Scarlet somehow. Maybe if she dies… that thing she put in me will die too. "

His note to himself was, however, loud enough to be heard by anyone in the vicinity.

"Hey, who's there? Someone there or somethin'?"

The voices were from males and they sounded like they had some authority in their tones. It had to be Allan's soldiers.

"Hey… doesn't that sound like Blu?"

Hearing his name mentioned forced a sigh of relief out of him. He walked out of the shrubs and immediately looked up to the trees and waved his wings lethargically."It's me, Blu! I'm down here."

The sources of the voice looked below, finding the macaw that they were looking for. "Hey, there, fella! We've been lookin' for ya! Get yer tail up here, man!"

"Yeah, Blu! C'mon!"

Hearing her name sent a jolt of dread through Blu's being, remembering what she did to him. Technically, Scarlet had already gotten him. He wanted to be honest to the two, but they would probably adhere to the "better safe than sorry" adage and shoot him point blank.

Without waiting any longer, Blu flew up to the branch the two uniformed falcons were on and perched between them. "Am I glad to see you two," he said, forcing a smile.

"Likewise, bro. We thought we got lost, almost to the point of thinking we'd have lost you. I'm Mac, by the way," the falcon introduced, gently patting Blu on the back. Tony did the same.

"Name's Tony. Nice to meet ya, Blu. Well, since we're all here, let's just say this is the rendezvous point. I'll call up the Sarge then and tell 'em that we've located our guest."

Mac and Tony were oblivious to Blu's probable demise, but hopefully it won't turn him against them before Blu can be cured. If there even is a cure…

While they waited for Sergeant Travis and Private Allan, Eva had arrived at her family's hollow. She was expecting Rafael to lunge towards her and hug her to death for being gone for so long. However, her thoughts came crashing down when she was instead greeted by silence and emptiness.

She stepped in and glanced around, some of the moonlight shining in front of the hollow. There wasn't any blood on the floor and walls. She sighed out of relief and weariness, for she was confident that Rafael and the kids knew of Scarlet and were able to escape.

She was to turn around and head over to Jewel's hollow, but a gray object lying in their nest caught her eye.

The toucan went over to it and picked it up. It looked like a recorder. It had a mic on it, and some command buttons and a speaker. She noticed the button that said "Play," and pressed it, realizing then that it was a message.

_"Hey, honey. It's me, Rafael. You've been gone for quite a long time, mi amor. We were getting very worried about you. But then a bird in a uniform showed up and said his name was Allan, and told us to follow him. He said it was for our own safety. I asked why, and well, I learned that there's a lunatic on the loose. And not just an ordinary lunatic, he said. He also told me that he already knows you and that you're in good condition with Blu. *Sigh of mixed relief and worry* I hope you find this, Eva-darling. If you're looking for us, we're on the island with that weird building. Jewel and her kids are with us too, as well as a LOT of other birds and their families. Please get here soon, honey. I love you, and stay safe."_

The recording ended there with a click.

A warm smile was on Eva's face. They were out of harm's way and sheltered from Scarlet's wrath.

She left the playback device where it was and faced the eerily dark and quiet jungle. The island with the weird building, huh? Then that's where I should go. Just being in this jungle we used to call home is a deadly risk.

Eva walked to the rim of the hollow and spread her wings, but paused before taking off.

Making this trip is also a risk._ Does that Scarlet even sleep, or is she prowling all day and all night? Well, anything is better than hanging around here, and I miss my pudgy papaya…_

Steeling her will, the toucan jumped out and headed for the island in question, cutting through the foliage and shadows alike. She kept her senses tuned to the environment despite her lack of sufficient energy, but as far as she could tell, she did not pick up any signs that Scarlet was tracking her.

I'm going to slip away right under your beak, Scarlet. You'll never catch me, or my family and friends. I am saddened for the others who weren't so lucky, but you're going to get what's coming to you one day…

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><p><strong>Author's Notes: Well, that's the end of this chapter. Sorry it was too short. Hopefully I get to make a longer one. <strong>

**And many thanks again to Toltec Spirit for the proof-reading. **


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